‘The virus is in Atascadero,’ mayor says. But SLO County Public Health can’t confirm that
The mayor of Atascadero on Sunday released a video claiming coronavirus is in the city — although public health officials have not yet confirmed the locations of any patients who’ve tested positive for COVID-19.
“We now know the virus is currently in Atascadero,” said Mayor Heather Moreno in a video posted on the city’s YouTube channel.
Three San Luis Obispo County patients have tested positive for COVID-19, as of Monday — one person in the North County and two people from the South County.
The North County patient was described as a person over the age of 65 with underlying health conditions who exhibited a fever, cough and shortness of breath.
The two South County patients live together in the same household. The initial patient was described as an adult under the age of 60 with significant underlying health conditions. Public Health hasn’t provided any details on the third person.
Heard through unofficial channels
Moreno told The Tribune she received information through unofficial channels that led her to believe one of the confirmed COVID-19 cases is in Atascadero.
She said her goal in making the video was to reassure city residents, many of whom may look to their mayor instead of Public Health officials for guidance during challenging times.
Moreno’s video message also urged residents to stay calm and provided tips on how to curb coronavirus transmission.
“I wanted people to have a level of comfort that we’re on top of things,” Moreno said.
Why Public Health isn’t releasing city locations
However, Dr. Penny Borenstein, the county Public Health officer, said on Monday that authorities aren’t officially releasing the locations of patients who test positive for COVID-19 to protect their medical privacy and prevent public panic.
Public health officials conduct contact studies with each patient who tests positive to determine how many people the individual may have interacted with and whether they created a significant health risk.
So far, officials have notified only those who may be at risk for contracting coronavirus as a result of their exposure to a confirmed patient, Borenstein said.
“I am well aware that the public — sometimes the patients themselves — share information,” Borenstein said at a news conference Monday. “But we in public health still live under very strict medical privacy rules.”
“I know that there is a sense of ‘Yes, but if a certain town or city or street or block is at higher risk, doesn’t that trump the need for medical privacy?’ Yes, that may be the case in some situations. We have not yet identified amongst our cases a situation where we need to give additional information to the community.”
This story was originally published March 16, 2020 at 5:45 PM.
