SLO County’s plan to reopen fails to meet Gov. Newsom’s criteria in key areas
San Luis Obispo County officials say they’re ready to reopen most businesses and public spaces as soon as they get the go-ahead from the state — but that approval may be slow in coming.
The county falls short of meeting state public health guidelines required to move ahead in two significant ways: There are too many recently confirmed cases of the coronavirus and the county lacks the ability to test enough people for COVID-19, so far.
California counties could soon be allowed to reopen some businesses and restaurants for inside dining, if they are able to meet a series of public health criteria laid out by the governor on Thursday.
Some things are going well for SLO County, and on Wednesday Public Health Officer Penny Borenstein said “we feel ready to contain this virus.”
In the last few weeks, for example, the county increased capacity to test people for the virus, have a plan for an outbreak among residents experiencing homelessness, and significantly increased the ability of the health care system to handle a surge in positive cases.
However, the county does not meet some of the state criteria. That criteria, according to emergency services director Wade Horton, was disappointing to officials because they thought the county would be moving forward with its START Guide to begin reopening businesses.
Borenstein on Friday signed a statement to present to state public health officials saying the county is in a state to proceed with reopening, and that some of the metrics are met “the spirit” of the criteria, not the “actual word.”
Here’s how SLO County measures up against some of the state criteria required to move ahead:
Have no more than one new case of coronavirus per 10,000 people in the last two weeks.
Not met. In SLO County that would be 28 since April 24. There have been 62 confirmed cases in the last two weeks as of May 8, according to county data. Borenstein said Friday she believes the county meets the criteria “in spirit.”Have no COVID-19-related deaths in the last two weeks.
Met. SLO County’s only known COVID-19-related death was April 4.Have a minimum daily testing capacity of 1.5 per 1,000 residents.
Not yet met. That would be 420 in SLO County. SLO County initially said in its START Guide that plans to ramp up to 300. Borenstein attested to the state Friday that testing would increase to meet criteria by May 18.Have at least 15 people doing contact tracing per 100,000 residents.
Not yet met. SLO County would need 42. The county currently has 14 and is working to transfer other county staff to meet the criteria. Borenstein said the county is meeting demand with current staffing.Have the ability to house at least 15 percent of homeless residents.
Unclear. Based on the 2019 homeless count, SLO County would need 222 beds. In March, the county made agreements to set aside 155 hotel beds and additional camp sites.
Borenstein said the county does meet the criteria of low daily case numbers, if cases within controlled settings such as prisons, nursing facilities or homes, are not taking into account.
“If you look only at our cases that are community transition, new sources of infection, or travel associated infection — and exclude those congregate settings or household transmission where we already had people under quarantine in the household who became sick during quarantine — then we do meet the criteria,” Borenstein said a press conference Friday.
As for testing, It’s not just the state criteria that says the county is falling short. Testing capacity reported by San Luis Obispo County fails to meet what leading medical research institutions say is needed to protect public health.
Research out of Harvard Global Health Institute, for example, recommends the ability to test 152 people for every 100,000 residents. With a county population of approximately 280,000, that’s 425 people a day.
In its START Guide, the county said testing capacity would increase to 300 residents a day at most. In the attestation to the state, the county says testing capacity will reach nearly 450 a day.
When asked by The Tribune about the disparity between the 300 START Guide estimate and the state criteria, Borenstein said she was not going to “play a numbers game.”
Instead, she stressed a lack of scientific guidance on the level of testing needed, and emphasized that the county has ramped up testing and that not all appointment slots to perform testing are full.
“I believe we are in the ball park. I believe we have testing to everyone who wants it at this time,” she said Friday. “If they have any one symptom that meets any of the criteria, there is no one who is being turned away from testing.”
Testing is performed by both public and private labs. New state-sponsored clinics in Paso Robles and Grover Beach opened in early May, and the county has said those increase testing capacity by 260 a day.
And, according to the attestation, an additional capacity for 1,000 tests a week will be added the week of May 18, as a result of a contract with US Health Fairs and surveillance study conducted with the Infectous Diseases Branch of the California Department of Public Health.
This story was updated Friday at 5 p.m. to add comments by Health Officer Penny Borenstein about the county’s metrics. It was updated again Friday at 8 p.m. to add testing details revealed in the county’s attestation document
This story was originally published May 8, 2020 at 1:25 PM.
