Residents demand S.J. County health officer open schools

STOCKTON — Several parents on Tuesday called for the San Joaquin County Public Health Officer to disregard orders from Gov. Gavin Newsom to keep schools closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, stating their children will benefit more from inperson instruction.

The pleas from parents were made during the general public comment portion of the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors meeting, as well as during a COVID-19 pandemic update from Dr. Maggie Park, the county’s public health officer.

“Our government is failing the present generation of children in our county,” Lodi resident Jessica Drake wrote in a letter read by Clerk of the Board Rachel DeBord.

“Schools need to be open, and every child has a right to an education,” Drake wrote. “Sitting in front of a screen for six hours a day is not an education. How can the board justify students gathering at day cares, but not in a classroom? There’s no logic in this and it’s time to rise above politics and put children first.”

In July, Park issued a health order mandating that both public and private schools conduct distance learning until further notice in an effort to maintain consistency with the California Department of Public Health and slow the spread of COVID-19.

The order was issued as San Joaquin County has remained on the CDPH COVID-19 watchlist since June 10. Last month, Newsom and the CDPH mandated that all schools in counties on that watchlist must remain closed and conduct distance learning until after they have been removed and remain off that list for 14 consecutive days.

Despite those mandates, parents in the county have said many private schools have been operating under the guise of daycare

centers and day camps. Parents reasoned that if those entities are allowed to have children on site and provide an education, then public school districts should be allowed to do so as well.

County Counsel Mark Myles said daycare providers are allowed to operate in the county, and as long as they remain small, they do not present a path to COVID-19 spread. However, if schools begin operating as daycares centers, he said they present the same risk of spreading the virus as they would if school was typically in session for inperson instruction.

Myles said the state was trying to resolve the issues of daycare centers, camps and schools operating in similar capacities across the state, not just in San Joaquin County.

Despite Myles’ explanation as to why daycare centers and camps can operate, parents wanted both supervisors and Park to supersede state orders and allow children back in the classroom.

“Make the decision to open schools,” Lodi resident Jenny Miller wrote. “Fire or call for the public health officer to resign. Making decisions out of fear is not her job. Her job is to follow the science. Cancel the state of emergency, because we are not in a state of emergency.”

Park said she understands the frustrations aired by parents, but reiterated as she has done during previous COVID-19 updates, that the only way schools can open is if the county remains off the state watchlist for 14 days.

“There is nothing I can do besides what is law set by the governor,” she said. “I don’t have the power to override what is coming from the state. We won’t be able to get our kids back in school unless we get off the watchlist. We’ll get off that watchlist if we stop having gatherings and stop spreading the virus.”

In order for schools to reopen, the county’s 14-day case rate must be less than 200 cases for every 100,000 people, and its positive testing rate must be at 8%, Park said.

Currently, the county’s case rate is at 226 cases per 100,000 people, and the positive testing rate is at 11.4%, she said.

Park said she did not know exactly when the county would meet those targets to reopen schools and be removed from the state watchlist.

However, she did say cumulative COVID-19 numbers reported on county public health’s COVID19 dashboard should be accurate once again, as the state fixed the glitch in its California Reportable Disease Information Exchange System last Sunday.

The glitch had been underreporting COVID-19 numbers to counties across the state since the beginning of the month.

As of Tuesday, the county was reporting 15,201 positive cases and 280 deaths since the pandemic began.

In addition, Park said there were 160 people being treated for COVID-19 in all seven hospitals throughout the county as of Tuesday, making up 23% of all hospitalizations.

Of those COVID-19 patients, 53 were in intensive care units. Of those 53, 33 are being treated with ventilators, she said.

The county’s ICUs are operating at 123% capacity, a significant decrease from the 146% operating capacity reported just eight days ago, she said.

While hospital rates are down from two weeks ago, the likelihood of COVID-19 spreading in San Joaquin County is still prevalent.

According to state data, over the last seven days, the potential for disease spread was recorded at 1.28, meaning for every person currently infected with the virus, they have the potential to infect 1.28 people.

The state said this means COVID-19 is likely still spreading.

“It’s disappointing to see the potential for increase here,” Park said. “To see hospitalization rates going down is encouraging, but it’s a short-term decrease. We still need to do messaging to get the word out about preventing the spread of COVID-19, and we are.”

Lodi Chamber laments orders for salons, barbershops

In his “Weekly Chamber Connections” email, Lodi Chamber of Commerce president and chief executive officer Pat Patrick said his organization was disappointed that Gov. Newsom provided no update with regard to reopening salons, barbershops and other “non-essential” businesses on Tuesday.

“We understand the heatwave and the numerous fires in the state have taken priority, but there was not even a mention about another press conference when information about re-opening salons would be made available,” Patrick said.

Patrick added he was in communication with San Joaquin County Public Health Services last week, and was told that salons and barbershops cannot be open due to the close proximity of clients and stylists for an extended period of time.

When he asked PHS if any data suggested salon and barbershop conditions were more dangerous than grocery shopping or sitting at a casino, he claimed the answer he received was “no.”

“It doesn't make sense to us that stylists — who are abiding by (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) sanitary guidelines, as well as those of the state requiring masks, gloves, extra sanitation, socially distanced hair cutting stations, temperature checks, etc., are not able to open given the lack of data the county and state of California have,” he said.

Currently, personal care services such as salons and barbershops located in counties on the state’s COVID-19 watchlist must close indoor operations, but are allowed to operate outdoors.

San Joaquin County has been on the watchlist since June.

Patrick argued the state and county’s reasoning felt like “an arbitrary ruling” that was destroying business and livelihood.

“If masks and gloves are able to stop or slow the spread of COVID19 while we are at a restaurant, a waiting room, inside a grocery store, then why don't they work in salons?” he asked. “We will continue these conversations with city and county elected officials as we encourage them to ask these same questions to their contacts at the state.”