Resident to Stanislaus County Supervisors at board meeting: ‘You need to start leading’
As a coronavirus outbreak continued to burn through the community and fill hospitals with COVID-19 patients, Stanislaus County supervisors didn’t take any new steps Tuesday aimed at slowing the spread of the outbreak.
Many local businesses were shuttered by the state’s stay-at-home order in March, April and May, and new state orders to battle a resurgence of infections is closing businesses for additional weeks — with no end to the outbreak in sight.
Some are asking why county leaders don’t enforce the state’s face covering rules or step up enforcement to stop gatherings that are spawning new cases.
Mary Jackson of Turlock said parents are frustrated that schools won’t be able to open for in-person instruction in August.
“You need to start leading,” Jackson said at Tuesday’s board meeting. “Do whatever it takes so we can be back to school after Labor Day.”
Right now, most efforts to battle a resurgence of coronavirus infections comes from Sacramento. Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday ordered the closure of malls, gyms, salons and indoor church services in 30 counties in California, including Stanislaus that are stricken by rising case numbers. That followed a July 1 order again closing Indoor restaurant dining, bars, wineries, theaters, arcades and museums.
Vintage Faire Mall on Tuesday was closed except for stores that had exterior entrances, like Macy’s.
The business disruptions will impact sales tax revenue that cities need to fund public services.
“Since Covid numbers and hospitalizations are up and masks are shown to be effective, if seems like county leaders need to take action to require local compliance,” J. Sinarle wrote in an email.
Sinarle suggested that angry voters could have their say when supervisors come up for re-election.
Supervisors did not discuss any stepped up efforts to get residents to comply with the measures considered most effective against coronavirus: face covering, social distancing and hand washing. Royjindar Singh, a county spokesman, said the sheriff’s office is not “arresting” anyone for holding gatherings.
Singh said he understood some cities were doing enforcement. County officials reiterated that almost 73 percent of cases are in the Latino community. Tuesday’s update included no new information on public health efforts in hard hit areas like south Modesto and Ceres and west Modesto.
The county is responsible for public health and programs for controlling contagious disease.
Vito Chiesa was the only supervisor wearing a mask at the meeting, held in the chambers at Tenth Street Place. Tom Berryhill called in to participate in the meeting.
Stanislaus County is No. 2 in coronavirus spread
Dr. Julie Vaishampayan, county health officer, told the board Tuesday that Stanislaus is second worst in the state in coronavirus spread, behind Imperial County, based on a positive test rate of 17.7 percent and 928 confirmed cases per 100,000 residents.
Vaishampayan said a recent three-day period with 544 new confirmed cases “is getting to the level of uncontrolled spread.” Citing a general rule that reported cases are a fraction of infections in the community, those 544 cases could represent 5,000 additional residents infected.
About 70 percent of local cases are younger adults under the age of 50. And 1 in 3 patients hospitalized are in the 21 to 50 age group.
A major concern is the rising hospitalizations due to coronavirus, increasing to 188 in the latest count at local hospitals, up from 113 two weeks ago. The county’s hospitals have reached their capacity to provide intensive care beds for COVID-19 patients.
Jody Hayes, county chief executive officer, said hospital executives have indicated there’s an increase in COVID-19 patients from this county being moved to facilities outside the county. The main factor in staffing ICU beds for the sickest patients is having enough qualified staff for the specialized care, Hayes said.
Some hospitals expect to staff up in order to expand ICU capacity within a few days, the CEO said.
Vaishampayan said she hopes the delay in resuming classroom attendance in school is only for a few weeks. She said elementary school children are probably least at risk to COVID-19 illness, but teachers, office staff, janitors and bus drivers are vulnerable to a severe case of the contagious disease.
Supervisor Terry Withrow said he can’t imagine the damage to the children’s education from suspending classroom instruction for an extended time.
Supervisor Terry Withrow on brother’s illness
Withrow mentioned that his brother, San Joaquin County Sheriff Patrick Withrow, had the COVID-19 illness, giving him a runny nose and headache for a day and “then he was fine.” Terry Withrow expressed an opinion later at Tuesday’s meeting that efforts to control coronavirus should mainly focus on protecting older residents.
Supervisors did approve a second grant program for businesses harmed by coronavirus shutdowns or disruptions, with this round of funding more focused on businesses in disadvantaged areas. The $10 million program will allocate 50 percent of the funding to businesses with up to 50 employees. The maximum grant will be $25,000 to cover payroll, supplies, utilities or other expenses.
Businesses with 50 or more employees will be eligible for a grant up to $50,000.
The county plans agreements with community-based organizations to provide navigators to assist business owners in disadvantaged areas with the application process.
This story was originally published July 14, 2020 at 5:04 PM.
