California is struggling to contain the coronavirus on a cruise ship off its coast as the number of confirmed and potential cases in the state grows.
The crackling of a police loudspeaker drew neighbors out of their homes to observe an unusual spectacle on a typically quiet residential street: a California county trying to force a resident to respect quarantine orders.
Princess Cruises alleged Saturday that the man who died was already carrying the virus when he boarded the ship. Sisson disagreed and said the county’s investigation found that he likely contracted the disease on the trip. “I don’t think local health departments were really informed of the gravity of the situation until Wednesday,” Relucio said.Sign up for the latest news, best stories and what they mean for you, plus answers to your questions.Other counties admitted that contacting the passengers was a low priority as other potential sources of exposure ballooned in their jurisdictions.
Matyas said the moderately sized Solano County has a unit of 15 people who focus on communicable diseases, but that other departments have been helping and the state Department of Public Health, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Travis Air Force Base have all provided additional staff.
In a briefing Friday, Dr. Barbara Ferrer, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, said that for now, the county has the capacity to do contact tracing, a method of quickly identifying a chain of potential transmission of the disease, for known cases and keep up with demand. But that could change.
Solano County initially required those exposed to COVID-19 to quarantine for 14 days at home. But, according to Matyas, the county in recent days has transitioned to asking those type of residents to stay home only if they develop symptoms. Gov. Gavin Newsom‘s office said the California Department of Public Health is prepared to deploy resources to counties that request help and has already sent staff to Placer, Santa Clara and Solano counties to help identify people who have been exposed to the disease. State public health staff in Richmond and Sacramento are also helping with phone calls, coordination and guidance on individual cases.
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