Stanislaus County health official talks transmission, testing and what you can do
Hours after announcing that two Stanislaus County adult men had confirmed cases of COVID-19, Dr. Julie Vaishampayan explained how the coronavirus can spread.
“Most transmission has required very close contact, such as the same household, requiring being face-to-face within six feet for at least 10 minutes.” said Vaishampayan, the county’s top health officer. “People shouldn’t worry about walking by someone in the grocery store or passing them on the streets.”
One of the men confirmed with COVID-19 had been a passenger on the February Grand Princess cruise. How the other patient contracted the virus has not been determined.
Vaishampayan also discussed Wednesday afternoon what people can do if they feel they might be sick with the virus and offered advice on how to move forward.
Globally, there are more than 118,000 cases in 114 countries, and at least 4,300 deaths. The World Health Organization officially declared the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus, as a pandemic.
California had 177 positive cases and three deaths. About 32 of the cases were identified as community transmission and 26 are from unknown sources. The remainder are related to or among travelers from outbreak areas.
Stanislaus County public health is continuing to operate under the guidelines from California Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
On March 7, CDPH issued three protocols for dealing with the coronavirus, one each for mass gatherings, K-12 schools and higher education institutions.
The recommendations for management are tiered, based upon the presence of a COVID-19 case in a school, the school district or local community.
Coronavirus testing in Stanislaus County
Eighteen public health labs are capable of performing viral testing.
Stanislaus County public health does not perform its own testing; all specimens are handled through them and then sent to CDPH for testing.
Vaishampayan said not everyone with respiratory symptoms requires coronavirus testing.
“First of all, if you have mild symptoms such as a cough and low fever, there really isn’t a reason for testing. Stay home, just as you would with any other viral infection,” said Vaishampayan.
She said, however, if a person develops more severe symptoms, such as shortness of breath or feeling more ill, they should call their doctor before going to the office.
Vaishampayan said If emergency care is needed, please call ahead to notify the emergency room so they may take precautions to prevent exposure to others.
Not all doctors’ offices and clinics can collect the samples for viral testing, which consists of swabs of the person’s nose and throat, and they are then placed in special media.
All five acute care hospitals in the county are capable of collecting samples.
Quest Laboratories has testing available, but their capacity is not yet known. They did not respond to queries.
Supportive care, such as fever control, is the mainstay for most mild cases of COVID-19. Specific anti-viral medications are not available for the novel coronavirus.
Symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, cough (usually dry) and shortness of breath, and the symptoms may look similar to illness caused by other viruses.
Testing for influenza may be necessary for some symptomatic people, as antiviral medications are available to treat influenza.
“We are still seeing flu, as well as other typical respiratory viruses for this time of year,” said Vaishampayan.
“Currently the county has all needed supplies, including appropriate PPE (personal protective equipment) for health care personnel,” said Vaishampayan.
She said California has a system in place to distribute additional supplies if needed, but the county has not needed to make any requests.
Counties are at different points with encountering the novel coronavirus
Sacramento County public health officials have stopped 14-day quarantine periods for people with possible COVID-19 because the county has a relatively high number of cases.
“Sac County has more cases than we do, so we are still working on containment,” said Vaishampayan, “So, for now we are still recommending it (quarantine).”
She said any person that tests positive for the virus in the county would be placed in isolation, and those exposed but don’t have symptoms would need quarantined.
Isolation means separating sick people from well people. Quarantine separates and restricts the movement of people with known exposure to a contagious disease, during the time when they could become ill to try to decrease spread of the infection.
Arrival of cases in the county is not surprising, as the virus has been spreading throughout surrounding counties.
“We expected to have a case here, but we encourage diligence for your preparedness,” said Vaishampayan, “Don’t procrastinate any longer. Get prepared.”
This story was produced with financial support from The Stanislaus County Office of Education and the Stanislaus Community Foundation, along with the GroundTruth Project’s Report for America initiative. The Modesto Bee maintains full editorial control of this work.
This story was originally published March 12, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Stanislaus County health official talks transmission, testing and what you can do."
