SACRAMENTO, Calif. — As health officials around California and the world scrambled to cancel public gatherings in an effort to slow the spread of coronavirus, Sacramento County’s health department chose to run in a different direction by loosening some restrictions and focusing more narrowly on encouraging people who develop symptoms to stay home to prevent passing the virus to others who might be more vulnerable.
“You kind of give up on containment and go to mitigation,” said county health chief Dr. Peter Beilenson, who confirmed Tuesday that the change in tactics amounts to an admission that the virus has already begun to spread throughout the community.
Sacramento’s approach is sharply different from the way other communities, even in Northern California, are trying to address the viral outbreak.
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For instance, the San Jose Sharks may have to cancel their next few home games or play them in an empty arena after Santa Clara County decided to ban all public events with more than 1,000 people for the rest of the month.
By contrast, there are no restrictions that would prevent the Sacramento Kings from playing their next home game Wednesday in Golden1 Center in front of a crowd of nearly 18,000 fans.
“Some of the jurisdictions in the state have more conservative edicts,” Beilenson acknowledged. “Different jurisdictions have different guidelines which is why we’re working with the UC system to come up with a concrete set of recommendations.”
As New York implemented a containment zone, Italy restricted movement nationwide, and federal officials worked to quarantine cruise ship passengers debarking in Oakland, Sacramento county’s health department came down on the side of allowing people “more open access to venues, with the one caveat being that if they’re sick, they should stay home.”
After meeting with Sacramento County health officials, Elk Grove Unified School District lifted its ban on extracurricular events. The schools remain closed for the week to the 64,000 students in Northern California’s largest district.
Beilenson says Sacramento County’s focus now is on “trying to reduce the risk to the population that’s most at risk from this virus, which are seniors and those with underlying chronic conditions.”
In the same interview Tuesday, Beilenson confirmed that Sacramento County just learned of its first positive test for COVID-19 inside of a senior center.
The senior center was working to take extra precautions in cleaning the facility and protecting the people in it Beilenson said, and all senior centers in the county are being asked to prevent anyone with symptoms from visiting people inside.
COVID19 BACKGROUND
According to the CDC, coronavirus (COVID-19) is a family of viruses that is spreadable from person to person. Coronavirus is believed to have been first detected in a seafood market in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. If someone is sick with coronavirus, the symptoms they may show include mild to severe respiratory illness, cough, and difficulty breathing.
Currently, there is no vaccine; however, the CDC suggests the following precautions, along with any other respiratory illness:
- Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
- Stay home when you are sick.
- Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
- Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe.
- Wash your hands with soap and water for a minimum of 20 seconds.
WHY HEALTH OFFICIALS ARE SO CONCERNED
Some people have compared the low overall death toll to the flu's high annual death toll in the United States as a reason not to be concerned about COVID-19, however, doctors and health officials are concerned for three main reasons:
- There's no vaccine yet and won't be one for until early 2021, at the soonest. Scientists are still researching what other medications could help patients.
- Some people have built up immunity to the flu, but few have immunity to COVID-19 version of coronavirus.
- Both the flu and COVID-19 are spread by droplets, but COVID-19 might be spread in the air. Scientists are researching exactly how COVID-19 spreads.
HEAR FROM DOCTORS:
Dr. Payal Kohli, a cardiologist & doctor of internal medicine, spoke with ABC10's Walt Gray about the novel coronavirus, those most at risk, vaccine timeline, & more.
Dr. Dean Blumberg, the Chief of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at UC Davis, answered some FAQs from ABC10 viewers about the coronavirus: