Weeks of August 2nd & 9th, 2020

In this Issue

• "The People's Health Briefing" with Dr. Noha Aboelata
• Don't miss the "Supervisor's Report" on TV 30 with Host Catherine Baker and Guest Dr. Nicholas Moss, Interim Director of Public Health
• District 4 Information & News
• Census 2020: The Critical Hour Has Arrived
• Food Distribution
• Summer Programs
• Contact My Office

Need A COVID19 Test? Food? Childcare?

Alameda County  frequently updates this COVID19 Testing, Food, and Social Services interactive map: https://www.acgov.org/maps/food-services.htm

COVID19 Updates From Health Care Services Agency

To read the full Health Care Services newsletter please visit: https://covid-19.acgov.org/response.page? .

For the most up-to-date information from Health Care Services, including progress made during Shelter-in-Place, information about COVID19 testing, and an update about how racial disparity continues to play a role in COVID19 cases and planning, visit the front page of the Alameda County Health Department website: https://covid-19.acgov.org/index.page?

An Update from Health Care Services: As of August 10, 2020

Last Friday, Dr. Mark Ghaly, Secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency, announced an undercount of COVID-19 cases flowing to the California Reportable Disease Information Exchange known as CalREDIE. The issue, which began July 25, has since been addressed and the system is now performing as expected. We are told the current backlog was eliminated and new cases attributed to the backlog will be reported over the next few days. This means that Alameda County's trends for cases, testing, and positivity rates may still be subject to incomplete reporting. It's important to note that hospitalization rates are not affected as they are reported through different systems.

There are several notable leadership transitions to report this week including:

• Dr. Erica Pan's appointment to Interim California State Health Officer following Monday's resignation of Dr. Sonia Angell who served as State Health Officer and Director of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH).

• Sandra Shewry is helping fill the role by serving as CDPH Interim Director.
• Our Interim Health Officer, Dr. Nicholas Moss, will be taking family leave later this month. During his leave,
• HCSA's Medical Director, Dr. Kathleen Clanon, will serve as Deputy Health Officer. Dr. Clanon leads our whole person care initiative AC Care Connect, and has been an integral part of our COVID-19 leadership and response teams since the beginning of our activation. She will be assisted by,
• Dr. Michael Stacey who has many years of local health jurisdiction experience, having served as Medical Director, Deputy Health Officer, and Deputy Director of Health and Social Services for Solano County. He is also the co-chair for the Bay Area Regional Health Inequities Initiative (BARHII).

Drs. Moss, Clanon, and Stacey are coordinating to facilitate a smooth transition in close partnership with HCSA leaders and our COVID-19 team. 

As we head into high temperatures forecast for Alameda County beginning this weekend, we want to remind you to stay hydrated and check in on vulnerable neighbors. The Alameda County Office of Emergency Services (OES) coordinates a list of extreme heat cooling centers which are currently limited due to COVID-19 considerations. OES is continually updating the list as new locations are submitted. This is also a good time to share the Alameda County Heat Vulnerability Map which illustrates social and environmental factors that contribute to community heat vulnerability and identifies neighborhoods and demographics disproportionately affected by heat waves. The interactive map illustrates the interconnected environmental, demographic, and health factors that can increase heat vulnerability of our communities. This information may be useful to county departments, city planners, and neighborhood and community organization efforts to assess and respond to the impacts of extreme heat.

Each week we provide a digest of new information on the evolving nature of the COVID-19 pandemic along with emerging and relevant news. We hope you find this summary useful, and we appreciate your readership and support!