Full Text
Alpine County Health Department, 75-B Diamond Valley Rd., Markleeville, CA 96120 Alpine County Board of Supervisors, Phone: (530) 694-2281 District 1: January Riddle, District 2: Ron Hames, District 3: Irvin Jim, District 4: Terry Woodrow, District 5: David Griffith January 31, 2022 ALPINE COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT Public Health Officer Order: Ordering Isolation and Quarantine Policy for Alpine Early Learning Center 75 Diamond Valley Rd, Markleeville, CA 96120 PHONE (530) 694-2146 • FAX (530) 694-2770 EMAIL: [EMAIL REDACTED] January 31, 2022 WHEREAS, a state of emergency has been declared by the State of California, and local emergencies have been declared in Alpine County in response to the virus COVID-19 (Coronavirus); and WHEREAS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued updated “COVID-19 Guidance for Operating Early Care and Education/Child Care Programs on Friday January 28, 2022, taking into account the physical, social and emotional well-being of all children, and the importance of children’s access to learning and care (COVID-19 Guidance for Operating Early Care and Education/Child Care Programs (cdc.gov)); and WHEREAS, despite its adherence to current guidance, both staff and children continue to be exposed and get ill with COVID-19 infections; and WHEREAS, the current variants of COVID-19 are extremely contagious; and WHEREAS, an unknown percentage of persons who become infected do not have any and WHEREAS, up to 1/3rd of persons who have laboratory confirmed infection may remain contagious to others longer than 5 days. Public Health Brief Richard O. Johnson, M.D., MPH Nichole Williamson Public Health Officer HHS Director Office: [PHONE REDACTED], Ext 249 Office: [PHONE REDACTED] e-mail: [EMAIL REDACTED] 24/7/365 Emergency Contact Number Dispatch: [PHONE REDACTED], Ext 330 ---PAGE BREAK--- Alpine County Health Department, 75-B Diamond Valley Rd., Markleeville, CA 96120 Alpine County Board of Supervisors, Phone: (530) 694-2281 District 1: January Riddle, District 2: Ron Hames, District 3: Irvin Jim, District 4: Terry Woodrow, District 5: David Griffith NOW, THEREFORE, effective today, Monday, January 31, 2022, under the authority of California Health and Safety Code sections 101040, 101085 and 120175 and Title 17 California Code of Regulations, Section 2501; Article XI of the California Constitution; California Government Code Sections 8634, and 8665, the Alpine County Health Officer: HEREBY ORDERS as follows: 1. The recitals above are incorporated herein as Findings. 2. It should go without saying that staff or children should not be at the Alpine Early Learning Center (AELC) facility if they are sick with for any reason of COVID-19 I CDC). 3. Alpine County Unified School District’s AELC Infant Room and Preschool Room shall comply with the following orders until further notice. 4. These Orders do not apply to the Diamond Valley Elementary School or to facilities in Bear Valley. 5. The CDC “COVID-19 Guidance for Operating Early Care and Education/Child Care Programs” shall be adopted, with the multi-layered strategy of masking, physical distancing, cohorting, testing, ventilation, handwashing and respiratory etiquette, and cleaning and disinfection, with the following modifications regarding isolation and quarantine. 6. Children of any age with of COVID-19 I CDC) shall get tested for COVID-19 and/or be evaluated by their healthcare provider. If the healthcare provider provides a letter stating that they do not have COVID-19, or their test is negative, they may return to the AELC once they are fever free for >24 hours without antipyretic medication, and are improving. 7. If a child tests positive for COVID-19, they must isolate at home for the following 10 days. Day “zero” is the first day of or the date of the positive test, whichever comes first. No further testing is required or recommended. They may return to the AELC on day 11 if they have been fever free for >24 hours without antipyretic medications and their are improving. 8. Staff who are fully vaccinated (2 doses of Pfizer or Moderna, or one dose of J and J) including a booster, who develop and test positive, shall isolate at home for at least the following 5 days. If they are fever free for >24 hours without antipyretic medications and are improving, they may attempt to “test out” at 5 days or after. If their test is negative, they may return to the AELC on day 6 or after. If their test is still positive, they are to continue isolation through day 10. On day 11, they may return to the AELC if they are fever free for >24 hours without antipyretic medications and their are improving. No further testing is recommended or required. 9. Staff who are not fully vaccinated as defined in #8 and become with a positive test will automatically be subject to 10 days of isolation at home, regardless of previous history of COVID infection or positive tests. No further testing is required or recommended. ---PAGE BREAK--- Alpine County Health Department, 75-B Diamond Valley Rd., Markleeville, CA 96120 Alpine County Board of Supervisors, Phone: (530) 694-2281 District 1: January Riddle, District 2: Ron Hames, District 3: Irvin Jim, District 4: Terry Woodrow, District 5: David Griffith 10. Students and staff at the AELC are in 2 cohorts – the Infant Room or the Preschool Room. If anyone in either room tests positive, all persons who have been a part of that cohort during the previous 48 hours will be considered exposed and that person or parent will receive a “group notification” of exposure. 11. All children in a cohort that have been exposed will be subject to quarantine for 10 days, day 1 being the day after the last possible exposure. 12. All staff who are part of an exposed cohort, who are without and who have NOT completed the vaccine series (primary series and booster), are to be quarantined for at least 5 days. On day 5, if they are without and test negative, they may return on day 6. 13. All staff who are part of an exposed cohort, who are without and who have completed the vaccine series including booster, do not need to quarantine. However, on day 5 or later after the last possible exposure, they should be tested for COVID-19, and may continue o work if the test is negative. 14. All of the above is to be implemented regardless of anyone’s history of COVID-19 or positive tests within the previous 90 days, due to the issue of frequent breakthrough and re-infections with the current variants. 15. Testing of all staff regardless of vaccination status will continue according to current policy and protocol. 16. All references to testing of children or staff in this document implies the use of antigen testing, either home testing or professional antigen tests performed by a health care provider, and not PCR testing. 17. All adults and children should either perform a mental check looking for every 24 hours, or have a parent or guardian perform same for them. Any questions regarding which have been identified should be directed to the Alpine County Health Department at [PHONE REDACTED], Option 1. of COVID-19 I CDC This Order shall take effect on Monday, January 31, 2022 and shall remain in effect until further notice. General Provisions 1. This Order is issued as a result of the worldwide pandemic of COVID-19 disease, also known as “novel coronavirus,” which has infected more than 5 million persons in California, and caused many thousands of deaths, including children. In addition, children have been diagnosed with Multisystem Inflammatory (MIS-C), with approx. 50% requiring ICU care. 2. This Order is issued based on evidence of increasing transmission of COVID-19 both within the County of Alpine and worldwide, scientific evidence regarding the most effective approach to slow transmission of communicable diseases generally and COVID-19 specifically, as well as best practices as currently known and ---PAGE BREAK--- Alpine County Health Department, 75-B Diamond Valley Rd., Markleeville, CA 96120 Alpine County Board of Supervisors, Phone: (530) 694-2281 District 1: January Riddle, District 2: Ron Hames, District 3: Irvin Jim, District 4: Terry Woodrow, District 5: David Griffith available to protect the public from the risk of spread or exposure to COVID-19. The current situation at the AELC is that a high percentage of students and staff have been exposed to or are sick with COVID-19. 3. This Order is intended to reduce the likelihood of exposure to COVID-19 in the AELC, thereby slowing the spread of COVID-19 in the community and the County as well as, on a larger scale, to communities worldwide. 4. This Order is issued in accordance with, and incorporates by reference, the: March 4, 2020 Proclamation of a State Emergency issued by Governor Gavin Newsom; the March 17, 2020 Declaration of Local Health Emergency based on an imminent and proximate threat to public health from the introduction of novel COVID- 19 in Alpine County; the March 17, 2020 Resolution of the Board of Supervisors of the County of Alpine proclaiming the existence of a Local Emergency in the County of Alpine regarding COVID-19 and ratifying and extending the Declaration of Local Health Emergency due to COVID-19; the Declaration of a Local Health Emergency by the Alpine County Health Officer on January 11, 2022, and ratified by the Board of Supervisors on January 18, 2022; all current applicable guidance issued by the California Department of Public Health, including but not limited to the California Department of Public Health Guidance for schools, and guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 5. This Order is made in accordance with all applicable State and Federal laws, including but not limited to: Health and Safety Code sections 101030, et seq.; Health and Safety Code sections 120100, et seq.; and Title 17 of the California Code of Regulations section 2501. 6. To the extent necessary, pursuant to Government Code sections 26602 and 41601 and Health and Safety Code section 101029, the Health Officer requests that the Sheriff ensure compliance with and enforcement of this Order. 7. Copies of this Order shall be posted on the County of Alpine’s Public Health Department’s website (COVID-19 I Alpine County, CA - Official Website (alpinecountyca.gov)) and provided to any member of the public requesting a copy of this Order. Questions about the Order may be directed to [EMAIL REDACTED]. Richard O. Johnson, MD, MPH Public Health Officer Alpine County