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A mask-clad Dr. Teresa Frankovich, Humboldt County’s health officer, sat down again today to respond to questions from local media. Catch the video above or read our summary below.

On Friday you announced that the state is providing Humboldt with a new community testing site. What’s the purpose of the facility, and is it a requirement for lifting state and local shelter orders? (0:10)

It’s a joint effort from the California Office of Emergency Services (OES) and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), Frankovich says, and it’s part of Governor Gavin Newsom’s plans to supplement local hospital capacity.

Will testing criteria at the site be the same as they have been, or will people with milder symptoms be able to receive tests? (0;58)

“It’s a really exciting development,” Frankovich says. This 100-bed site, already under construction at Redwood Acres Fairgrounds, is one of the first such sites in the state, but within the next couple of weeks she anticipates that people will be able to sign up online for testing — “without needing to go through a health care provider to access that,” she says. “Surveillance testing” has already begun on asymptomatic health care workers and first responders, she adds.

Given the ongoing difficulty of acquiring adequate supplies of testing resources, when do you expect to be able to conduct surveillance testing and contact tracing for the general public? (2:20)

The supply chain is improving, in part thanks to the governor’s task force, Frankovich says. “That being said, when we’re doing these collection sites, [the samples] do have to go to commercial labs or other types of large labs,” she adds. The county is already doing some limited contact tracing, but it will be important to ensure a fast turnaround time of test results for that effort to be done on a larger scale. 

The FAA is set to award the county’s Department of Aviation more than $17 million in CARES Act funding. What would the county’s Office of Emergency Services and/or Public Health Branch do with a grant of that size? (3:33)

[Note: This question came from the Outpost, and it was submitted with a part b — “What if the availability of testing supplies was not a problem? — that was not asked of Dr. Frankovich.]

“Well, it would be a good problem to have,” Frankovich says. A bigger problem than funding has been access to testing supplies such as reagents and swabs. 

Can you provide an update on efforts to bolster the local health care workforce? (4:33)

“You’re right,” Frankovich says, “it doesn’t matter how many beds we have if we don’t have people to provide care.” County staff is in conversations with local health care partners and is considering enlisting disaster service volunteers, retirees and others to staff a robust team. 

State Senator Mike McGuire tweeted this morning that testing at the new site will focus on hospital personnel, nursing home staff and skilled nursing facility teams. Can you confirm? (5:25)

“Yes, absolutely,” she says. 

What would you tell the protester from Friday’s demonstration at the courthouse who claimed the shelter-in-place order is more dangerous than the virus? (6:08)

It’s not always possible to know who’s at increased risk with COVID-19, Frankovich says, which is why the county asks people to socially distance and wear masks. As for the virus, it’s real, she says. We’ve seen how it has played out in terms of hospitalizations and deaths in many parts of the world. The social restrictions have a cost as well, so “a balancing act” is called for.

How do people experiencing homelessness get facial coverings? (7:33)

County employees who work on the front lines with homeless populations “have been armed with masks,” Frankovich says. Plus, people can use other things, besides masks, to cover their faces.

Is there concern that the mask order is spurring some relaxation of social distancing? (8:17)

“Well, I think people are eager to get out, and I understand that,” Frankovich says. There’s a learning curve to social distancing, and Frankovich says we’ve gotten better and better. 

Can you share any updates on research into the use of antibodies to treat COVID-19? (9:27)

Antibody treatment has proved effective for such ailments as rabies and respiratory syncytial virus, Frankovich says. Clinical trials are underway studying the effectiveness of antibody treatment for COVID-19.

Do you believe that the daily briefings from the White House do more harm than good? (10:56)

“Communication is good,” and we need to hear from Washington about what’s happening, Frankovich says, taking a diplomatic if evasive tack. The focus going forward should be on evidence-based practices. 

How many people died of flu-like symptoms or pneumonia in Humboldt during January and February, and how does that number compare with previous years? (11:35)

This past flu season was actually lighter, with fewer deaths, than previous years, she says. It’s still possible that some cases from this year were related to COVID-19, but there’s no evidence currently that the virus affected our latest flu season.