Humboldt County Public Health Officer Dr. Teresa Frankovich responded today to media questions related to the recent cases at the Alder Bay Assisted Living facility, whether those cases will affect the county’s ability to move into the next phase of reopening, whether the county has access to serology testing and if she thinks baseball will be able to happen this summer.

You can view the full questions and Dr. Frankovich’s responses in the above video and see a brief, rough summary of the questions and answers below.

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(0:08) What is the percentage for specificity and sensitivity for the PCR tests used in the public health lab?

There is no specific published data on specificity and sensitivity of the tests we’re running, but there are a lot of studies looking at it. The studies support the sensitivity and specificity being in the high 90s.

(0:52) What guidance is the county providing for summer baseball leagues? Is it conceivable to have fanless baseball at some point this summer?

The logistics of team sports includes the fans and assembling the number of people together to form the teams. This will probably be allowed later rather than earlier in the reopening approach. I can’t really make an estimate now.

(1:26) Can you share more details on the Humboldt County Office of Emergency Services’ instructions for self-certification for reopening small businesses?

That is slated for release later today. I want to point out that this is not self-certification. It’s an ability for businesses to choose what sector their business falls in, look at the guidance for what is required for them and then put their plan into a template and submit it. The county will review their plan and get back to them on their certification.

(2:08) Do you think Humboldt’s soft reopening has played a role in the recent spike of COVID-19 cases?

No. We just started the reopen on Friday and I don’t think it has had an impact on the cases we’re seeing now.

(2:22) Do you believe the county is ready to move into the state’s expanded phase two and what would that look like for Humboldt?

It is hard to say, since this is a fluid situation. We prepared and submitted our report for the state with the requested data. But the county has since had new cases, which changes the landscape. The state is aware of our current situation and we’ll figure out how to move forward based on what’s happening.

(3:05) Can you tell us generally if the COVID patients hospitalized locally were treated with remdesivir and, if so, did it appear to be successful?

Remdesivir is theoretically available locally, but it is in very short supply. It will be more difficult for us to access it for treatment as it is across the state. I can’t speak to our experience with patients here at this time.

(3:50) According to the lab report there have been seven hospitalizations to date. Can you give the public a better idea of the severity of these cases? Have ventilators been used? Have people been submitted to the ICU? Is there good news

The majority of the people hospitalized have recovered and have been doing very well. As for the people who have been hospitalized more recently, I can’t comment on their individual status.

(4:29) Based on what we know about the virus’s incubation period, do you expect there to be more cases at the Alder Bay Assisted Living facility and how will that impact how often you retest residents and staff?

The incubation period is about 14 days. We are conducting another round of testing already and anticipate conducting at least one more round of testing during the incubation period. There is a lot of contact in a congregate setting and it is important for us to monitor the facility closely and provide assistance.

(5:45) The ability to manage outbreaks in facilities like Alder Bay is one of the Governor’s metrics used to judge when local jurisdictions can reopen.  Will the rate of the spread of the virus inside that facility affect our ability to reopen?

Our ability to do investigations, testing and treating cases are all measures of our ability to move forward. Having one facility with difficulty is easier to manage than multiple ones, as some areas have seen. It is a factor we will look at when determining whether or not to move forward with reopening.

(6:45) What factors will you use to determine whether we have successfully managed the Alder Bay incident or whether we have failed to do so?

Going forward we are working closely with similar facilities to ensure that they have all the necessary equipment on site and that they are planning for what to do when they have cases and how to prevent cases. Those are important measures of our success.

(7:34) Has Humboldt County had access to serology testing? Is it limited or can people schedule tests?

Serology testing — or antibody testing — is available through commercial labs. Public health does not have serology testing right now, but may at some point. Right now serology is a really good public health and surveillance tool. But it is not a good tool for assessing your own health risk because we do not yet know that a positive test means that you have immunity.