Update for May 4

Message from Helen Robbins-Meyer, Chief Administrative Officer

So what is keeping the country and the Golden State shut down? 

We’re bending the curve and managing the spread of the new coronavirus. Local hospitals are safely within capacity, and we have surge plans in place for another 2,000 beds if cases spike. The need for face coverings, social distancing and sanitation protocols has been drilled into everyone’s head. 

So why can’t we open up? 

We get hundreds of emails and calls every day with this question. Restaurants, gyms, salons, bars, offices, malls and countless other businesses want to open their doors and get back to work. Some states have taken an aggressive, perhaps even high-risk, approach to doing just that. Other states are locked down. 

We get people’s frustration and pain. We also have a duty to protect the public’s health. In California, and specifically in our county, we are trying to slowly and responsibly find the balance of the right restrictions with the right loosening. 

Over the past couple weeks, we have slowly turned the dial down by adding more recreational opportunities for our residents. At the same time, we tweaked the dial up a little by requiring face coverings within six feet of another person. We’re giving hospitals the discretion to resume surgeries that are necessary after limiting them to emergency or immediately life-threatening situations during the early weeks of this crisis. And we’re asking businesses to develop safe reopening plans that include temperature checks and other new safety provisions, so that as soon as the governor gives the go-ahead, they can safely and responsibly reopen.

But what’s really critical to reopening? A vaccine is certainly the most important criteria. But until that can happen, we need a robust ability to test, trace and treat. We are calling it “T3.” 

To that end, we’re having Health and Human Services Agency Director Nick Macchione lead this important effort. For the next six months, Nick is stepping aside from his regular job running the Agency to devote his full attention to implementing a T3 capability for our region. That means testing equipment, physical testing sites that reach all populations, increased lab capacity, more PPE, new tracing technology, more isolation rooms, expanded follow-up, antibody research and testing, and so much more. 

The County needs an army of people to help with that. Aside from our existing County health professionals and contractors, we will be adding approximately 500 temporary personnel to carry out this enormous task. This is essential for our region to open up!

That’s on top of everything you’ve done to respond to this crisis, while also delivering the other County services our residents continue to need. You’ve stepped up, and we have more steps up to go. Thank you for all your efforts as we work together to safeguard San Diegans’ health.