Public Health – Emergency Medical Services – Behavioral Health – Environmental Health
Homeless Care & Coordination – HealthPAC – Center for Healthy Schools & Communities
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School and Waivers |
Bringing students back for in-person learning is a top priority for the next phase of reopening.
We continue to review school waiver applications. Applications are reviewed by County staff on a rolling basis and sent to the State for approval. All Alameda County schools and school districts are urged to prioritize preparing for school reopening following guidance developed by Public Health and the County Office of Education. Schools are encouraged to use state and locally permitted school-based small cohorts to provide targeted, specialized services for students with special needs and English learners, access to internet and devices for distance learning, and in-person support for at-risk and high need students. |
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Case and hospitalization rates continue to trend downward noting 3.5 new COVID-19 cases per day per 100,000 residents and:
- 91 confirmed COVID-19 hospitalized patients including 35 ICU patients on September 22.
- 20,839 cumulative cases and 395 deaths on September 23.
The LEMMA COVID-19 prediction model using hospital data through September 21 estimates the median Alameda County transmission rate (Rt) to be 0.61. This means each person with COVID-19, on average, transmits the virus to 0.61 other people. If we keep the transmission rate less than 1, new cases will decrease. The California COVID Assessment Tool (Cal-CAT) uses an ensemble of eight models and estimates our transmission rate to be 0.87 compared to 0.89 statewide.
For help with enforcement or report violations of workplace safety orders in Alameda County, please email: [email protected]
Testing
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Upcoming events and new sites:
· The Sanando Juntos Fruitvale testing event will be held on September 26 and 27 in the La Clínica de la Raza parking lot at 35th and E. 12 St in Oakland for people in the 94601 zip code. · Glad Tidings Church in Hayward is testing Wednesday through Saturday, 11 am-4 pm. Hours may change. · Global Communication Education and Art (GCEA) launched a pop-up site at Kidus Michael Ethiopian Orthodox Church, 678 26th St, Oakland. The site will operate once a week on Wednesdays for three weeks, beginning Wednesday, September 23. |
Our Health Care for the Homeless (HCH) and Public Health teams, along with partners including Roots Community Health Center, LifeLong Medical Care, Hayward/Fremont Fire and others have conducted 1,277 COVID tests in homeless shelters and encampments. To date, there are 40 positive results from 60 different testing events and an overall positivity rate of 3.1%. HCH and Public Health have coordinated 304 tests to date at Project Roomkey hotel sites, with 29 positive results and a positivity rate of 9.5%.
Case and Contact Investigation, Isolation and Quarantine
Alameda County currently has 45 outbreak investigators and 150 trained case investigators/contact tracers including 28 at community-based organizations. Between September 16 through 18, 56% of cases were reached within 24 hours of receiving contact information and 61% of cases were reached within 48 hours. Each contact tracing team is associated with resource navigators to assist in finding additional resources in the community. Resource supports may include lodging for people who need to isolate themselves successfully, financial assistance, food, housing rights and necessary household items.
Rolling applications for the COVID-19 case investigation and contact tracing services funding opportunity are due every first and third Friday of the month. For more information, go to Request for Qualification (RFQ) No. HCSA-900420.
Project Roomkey continues to provide isolation/quarantine housing for people living in crowded conditions or is experiencing homelessness.
The Alameda County Responsibility to Community Health (ARCH) Program provides financial assistance to self-isolating County residents in high-risk communities who test positive for COVID-19. Please see the FAQand press release for more information.
Hospital Capacity and Surge Planning
Our hospital utilization data as of September 22:
- 4% of the patients in hospital beds were confirmed COVID-19 positive.
- 12% of ICU patients were COVID-19 positive.
- 38% of the staffed inpatient hospital beds and 39% of the ICU beds were available and within our goal of above 20%.
- 76% of the mechanical ventilators were available.
If your facility needs COVID-related supplies or staffing please visit the Emergency Medical Services websiteto request PPE, request staffing and request testing supplies.
Disparities and Equity
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The highest case and positivity rates in Alameda County continue to occur in the Fruitvale and Coliseum zip codes in East Oakland, and the 880 corridor.
Among the six Alameda County community testing sites that provided raw demographic data in August (see graph), people who self-identify as Latinx have the highest positivity rate at 14.6% compared to a 6.9% overall positivity rate and a 1.7% positivity rate among Whites. Pacific Islander communities in the US face disproportionate COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations, and deaths in addition to Black, Latinx, and Native American communities. Many Pacific Islanders immigrated under the Compact of Free Association (COFA), which allows residents from Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and Palau to live in the US but not have citizenship or legal permanent residency, which makes it more challenging to access social services. Pacific Islanders in the US are disproportionately employed in low-wage frontline occupations at high risk for outbreaks such as meat or poultry plants, and are disproportionately impacted by diabetes, a risk factor for worse outcomes from COVID-19. These persistent disparities underscore the urgent need to address racial and socioeconomic inequities in economic stability, workplace safety, education and access to precautions, rapid access to testing, safe isolation housing, quarantine, medical care, and income replacement. Community COVID-19 testing sites and events utilize geographic and racial/ethnic disparity data to provide testing and outreach services to the communities disproportionately impacted by the pandemic and social determinants of health. |
Eliminating Homelessness
Alameda County set ambitious targets for 2026 – to ensure the availability of diverse and affordable housing for all residents with the goal of eliminating homelessness. These 10x goals are part of the County’s Vision 2026. Our Agency is actively involved in this particular goal, as noted by the following highlights and work underway:
- We opened a Safe Parking site in March 2019 to serve homeless residents who are living temporarily in their vehicles while they seek permanent housing. The site offers meal delivery, laundry facilities, Wi-Fi access and a permanent mailing address which is critical when applying for permanent housing. We have served more than 60 people and transitioned 32 into permanent housing to date.
- The Tiny Homes project, approved by Board of Supervisors on August 4, will provide 34 units with individual bathrooms and cooking areas. The project is expected to be completed by January 2021.
- Our Home Together Plan is a collaborative effort with homeless service and housing providers, County agencies, and regional organizations. The plan, adopted by the Board of Supervisors on August 4, makes recommendations for addressing homelessness in Alameda County through new investments and system improvements. The plan is available online for review.
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