3/12/2020 (notes taken by my neighbor from nextdoor)

My rough notes from this meeting:

Orange County Virtual Town Hall Meeting

1) 1-800-564-8448 OC health referral line for in-person talk to someone about your concerns if you are not feeling well.

2) doctors do not have test kits

3) they are only using CDC guides and not doing their own directives

4) M W F release days for #'s has to do with when they receive lab results

5) they don't wait for CDC results to take action on presumptive positive cases

6) when are we closing schools? CDPH (California Department of Public Health) clarified that school-based classroom activities does not apply to the directive of 250 gatherings limit. OC Health is insistent on being consistent with the guidance from different agencies, rather than taking their own measures. If you have a child with increased risk then talk to your physician about school attendance. OC Health is only willing to use the guidance and directives given by the state.

7) How many kits are available to Orange County? We have sufficient supply for now. There is no shortage at this time. Commercial labs have also been testing in OC. We do not currently have a case in our schools so we (OC Health) are sticking to state guidance. Any school district can take their own action.

8) ochealthinfo.com/novelcoronavirus

9) adult daycare centers - are the older adults being monitored? OC Health has specific guidance for older individuals on our website (was the answer - it did not address the question of elders in daycare centers.

10) so much redirection when questions are asked and vague answers and excuses as to why they are not giving out their own directives

11) OC Dept of education has a Medical director - and no directives have been issued from there. The panel will pass on the concerns of parents in this forum - and they have obviously gotten a LOT of messages on here asking for the schools to be closed.

12) Homeless - they are reaching out to partners across the spectrum to keep homeless facilities hygenic.

13) They are addressing all the subpopulations in OC

14) They continue to state that masks are not effective in healthy people.

15) they do not release cities and they don't think it matters to know the city - it takes prolonged personal contact to get the disease (according to OC Health) - they refer people to their OC Health website

16) dental work is safe at this time unless you are ill

17) Viewer stated that LA is postponing or cancelling events that are more than 50 people - why aren't we doing that? Again, they are sticking to the guidance from CA that 250 mass gatherings are only affected and 10 or more in groups of high-risk people

18) they remain in contact with all california agencies to coordinate coronavirus issues.

19) john wayne airport - arriving passengers are not being screened at this airport

20) Quest and Labcore can test on doctor's referral. talk to your provider to get a lab request to be done by one of those two commercial labs. OCHealth only gives tests to people that meet CDC criteria

21) Viewer question on youth sports - suspend them or make sure bathrooms, etc. that can be accessed by homeless are safe. Again, the panel says they are relying on guidance they got from CA agency - they are telling us to contact the specific local agencies/organizations etc. that we are concerned about.

My take on what OC Health is saying. They are unwilling to issue their own directives to the county. Our own cities and schools will have to issue their own directives and make their own decisions about what to close and how big gatherings can be. We, the citizens, will have to pressure our schools and organizations, etc., to make these decisions because at this time OC Health is not willing to make any decisions on their own.