Out of quarantine and back to work: SLO County attorney shares his coronavirus story
When Brad Cornelius and his family were released from their home after a coronavirus quarantine earlier this week, they stepped foot into a vastly different world than the one they isolated themselves from nearly a month ago.
Cornelius and his wife — the second and third San Luis Obispo County residents to have tested positive for COVID-19 — had been in isolation in their Nipomo home since March 15.
About 14 days after their symptoms subsided, the couple and their three children, who did not contract the virus, were officially given the all-clear from county Public Health on Monday, though they continue to stay home when not conducting essential tasks.
“Once you’re able to go back in public, you see how different things are, still. There’s this new way to go to the grocery store,” Cornelius said Thursday. “It was interesting to see and hear about (while in quarantine), but to experience it afterwards is a very unique situation.”
Almost a month to the day after Cornelius felt the first symptoms of COVID-19, he’s back to work as a county public defender, focusing on keeping the criminal justice system moving along for his clients, most of whom are in pre-trial detention at the County Jail, accused but not convicted of any crimes.
The courthouse has drastically cut its operations, but its felony and misdemeanor calendars must continue to run in order to protect people’s constitutionally protected rights, such as the amount of time an arrestee can be held in jail without getting their time before a judge.
With the county working to comply with a state mandate to impose $0 bail for nonviolent offenses and considering its own early compassionate release for at-risk inmates in an effort to reduce the jail population, Cornelius and other county public defenders are reporting to court every day to move in-custody cases forward.
As of Thursday, there had been 104 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and one death in San Luis Obispo County.
Pleased with Public Health officials’ response
Cornelius said Thursday that he’s “pretty comfortable” and hasn’t felt symptoms of the virus such as body aches, fever and a cough, since before he went into quarantine.
He said on the night of Monday, March 9, while at a Little League game, his wife began to feel “not the greatest.” Though it was not cold outside, she began to feel chills, Cornelius said, and he began to feel the same symptoms with body aches and a low fever later that night.
He felt crummy the next day but took over-the-counter Tylenol and was feeling better by March 11, he said, but his wife’s symptoms worsened. On March 11, they took her to urgent care, where she was tested for the flu and strep throat, both of which came back negative.
She was sent home without being offered a test for COVID-19, Cornelius said.
On March 12, as she was feeling a little better, he said, and went to a pre-scheduled doctor’s appointment for an unrelated matter. While there, the care provider had three available tests and decided to test her, Cornelius said, instructing her to go home afterward.
Cornelius, who at that point no longer felt sick, attended a court hearing on the afternoon of March 12 before returning home for the weekend. When they turned their cell phones on Sunday morning, Cornelius said the couple was inundated with missed calls and texts from his wife’s doctor and officials from county Public Health.
His wife had tested positive, and they wanted Cornelius to also take a test, which he did that afternoon. The results came back positive that night.
They were told to immediately quarantine in their home, along with their children, who never showed any symptoms, he said.
During those weeks, the family had a “direct line” with a specific nurse at Public Health, who wanted to know when they had both gone 72 hours without any symptoms.
Though he said it seemed local officials were “still figuring it out” early into their quarantine, Cornelius said he was pleased with the agency’s daily communication and assistance.
“It helps to have a cell number with a name on the other end of the line,” he said. “We could have had to deal with an after-hours business line, but we didn’t have to do that. We were able to shoot a text over weekends if we had questions.”
From scared to ‘stir crazy’
But Cornelius said there were some scary moments. Twice they took his wife to a local emergency room on the recommendation of Public Health.
“I was scared for my wife. She had a dry cough and some discharge, and the information was at the time that this can quickly turn into pneumonia,” he said. “Those moments were most concerning.”
He said he and his wife went through several stages during their quarantine.
“The first week, when you’re not feeling the greatest, it’s just like being home sick — not fun,” he said. “When the symptoms subside, the second week is kind of like vacation. By the third week, you’re like, OK, I’m ready to be back to life as normal.”
He added: “It’s hard not to go stir crazy.”
Asked about whether local officials were able to trace where he may have contracted coronavirus, Cornelius said he’s shared information with both primary care providers and county officials but had not heard anything.
He speculated that he and his wife may have come into contact with a waiter “who did not look the best” when they traveled overnight to Los Angeles County on business the week prior to showing symptoms.
Cornelius said he and his wife have volunteered to donate plasma in the hope that their immune antibodies can help patients fight the infection.
“We’re ready to help,” he said.
Going back to ‘essential’ work
Since a local news website publicly identified Cornelius as one of the county’s confirmed COVID-19 cases, Cornelius says he’s had “a couple of interesting interactions with some folks” who were made aware of his medical history. (Editor’s note: Though The Tribune did not identify Cornelius in its initial report in order to protect his medical privacy, as is standard media practice and recommended by the Society of Professional Journalists, Cornelius waived confidentiality for this article)
After he attended the court hearing March 12, county Public Health officials notified several members of the legal community that they may have come into contact with the virus and to self-quarantine, according to several attorneys.
But when Cornelius was released from quarantine — 14 days after his wife’s last symptom, he said — county Public Health Officer Dr. Penny Borenstein notified employees of the courthouse that he would be returning to work and is not a danger.
The court has recently implemented strict social distancing measures, cut non-essential staff, and limited operations to two courtrooms where only pressing criminal matters are being heard.
Because he has a caseload of clients, most of whom are in custody, Cornelius’ job is “essential” to keeping the administration of justice moving during the pandemic. On a daily basis, Cornelius and other attorneys with SLO Defenders, the firm that contracts public defender services with the county, are representing “new arraignments” who have been recently arrested and charged.
“I don’t see how you can (shut the system down), especially with someone in custody who has the presumption of innocence,” Cornelius said. “How do you deny them their rights?”
Because most of his clients are in custody, one of the first questions he asks his clients is whether they are sick or are being quarantined. In his four days back in court, no client has yet answered yes, he said.
In the end, Cornelius said his family’s experience has been very “unique,” and he hopes his story might help others.
“The thing I was most thankful for through this whole process was to learn that, to the best of my knowledge, none of my clients, friends, colleagues, court staff, or others I had contact with developed any symptoms,” Cornelius said. “That was a great relief.”
