 Hi, thank you for the introduction Liz and thank you for hanging on guys I know we've got a little bit of kinks to work out this morning But we're here for you and we're gonna make sure that we have a great summit We wanted to invite the new director of Metro health Dr. Don Emmerich to join us this morning But she's a dedicating her time to address the COVID concerns But we're happy to welcome Dr. Carlos Rodriguez the health equity manager at Metro health to give us some updates about COVID in Bayer County And I want to remind you guys in the audience that you can ask questions and use the chat function The moderators will be answering questions at the end of the presentation Thank you. Do you want me to start? Yes, Carlos you're live go Thank you. Good morning everybody. Thank you for the invitation. I just want to make it glorification I am not a doctor and I don't think they look like a doctor so however just a verification and Again, good morning and thank you for the invitation and I'm glad I can talk to Community of workers and people working in the community that do a very very valuable work particularly at this time I won't we're facing this COVID-19 I have some updated information that I hope it can be useful for for all the audience So I'm gonna start with the current situation and the public health response particularly when it comes to Metro health So right now, this is the current situation in our country and these numbers are good as a sub at the end of yesterday so As of the end of yesterday, we had 374,329 Confirmed cases in our country a 1669 were travel related infections in The 6847 were close contact infections now 365 813 some very invest and in only So yesterday we had 264 deaths. That's in the country talking about our community. These are the numbers of the end of yesterday in Berra County We have three In case 24.7 of those who are infections related to travel 35.6% Were infected you to close 89.8% where infections documentaries Is 9.9% are under negation also originally Yesterday 18 deaths now, there's one thing that I want to Point out there, which is percentage of community spread cases. So at this point the community spread cases already Be bigger and or larger than the travel cases means That we have spread already in our community and the important to have that integration Discuss that later why It is important just to explain how the beat 19 spread is pretty much a due to droplets produced When we cough or sneeze it also a goes to personal contacts such as Can of an infected person already that is see a from COVID-19 Also touching the object or surfaces with a virus So and then much in our mouth or nose or eyes before washing our hands. Those are the most common ways of transmits the virus So it is important that we focus on prevention and I think all the messages have been You know related to that lately and actually since the beginning because it's important for all of us to watch To wash our hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds and the soap and water are very effective to you know eliminate the the virus and the virus doesn't Can you know get into? You know our respiratory system. However, it's also recommended when we have Alcohol-based hand sanitizer to use it now obviously these days is difficult to find those sometimes So soap and water Are very effective as well. So we encourage everybody to do it as often as possible Also to reduce risk is important to avoid touching our eyes or nose and mouth We don't wash hands just like I said earlier. He also a You know, it is important to cover cough and sneeze with a tissue So so that way, you know, we prevent you give it to somebody else It's also very important to avoid close contact with people who are sick And that's what that's why it's very important to be careful when we Need to isolate ourselves if we get infected. It is very important to clean and disinfect The you know the the frequent touch objects or surfaces So, you know, we prevent you pass the virus to somebody else You know a Obviously in general everybody's a reason there's a population that is a higher risk and based on our experience that the older adults a Particularly the ones that live in nursing homes in long-term Long-term care facilities are very high risk. It is pretty much a result of You know, all their, you know health conditions that they already have such as lung disease whether it is severe or whether it is moderate also serious heart conditions or any condition that You know, the immune system that includes for instance individuals that are having therapy cancer and in other diseases that didn't manage their immune system Visities also Really good that some affect people and put them at a higher risk Diabetes obviously or also when we have a renal failure or Leave a disease. Those are some of the conditions that put our population are higher risk a so That is very important again to focus on prevention of the population at risk. That's what is very important for a Our elderly people it's important for everybody, but it's more significant for the other people to stay home a Was their hands and you realize a hand sanitizer and keep the six feet of distance from all the people and Particularly if somebody is sick to utilize the mask, you know, just to avoid the person to Give the virus to somebody else Obviously, if there are symptoms that indicates that a condition is getting worse such as difficult breathing or Persistent pain or pressure on the chest or Propeution and things like that is very important to call the doctor first and follow the doctor's order Now we have learned that These are the most common symptoms from COVID-19 fever is one of the cough and shortness of breath those are the three major Symptoms that we have observed but older Individuals reported additional ones that includes muscle aches and fatigue that includes severe illness It's important to know that when somebody is infected the symptoms may appear Between the second and the 14 days after the exposure Now it currently Metro health has a screening tool for individuals to use that is available on our website And also if you go to the city of San Antonio website You will find also a link to get connected to San Antonio Metro health District and you can find the cell the self screening tool in which pretty much anybody can go through that Answer the questions and primaries determine if the person Is being the criteria for getting tested I explained more on the testing Protocol a little bit a little bit later So in terms of the current situation and our public response I'm showing this graph which is maybe a lot of you guys have already seen it But it's a the flattened occur Grab is very important for us to to understand because the the main point here is that every community needs to focus on Diminish or eliminate as much as possible the spreader virus and a Try to avoid to have uncontrolled transmission of the COVID-19 Why because if we don't do that then we're gonna overwhelm our a health care system in our hospitals and our health workers and And then that will be catastrophic That's why it's very important for a community to follow all the directors from doctors and infectious disease specialist and anybody that is Separate in everything maybe so that way we do not infections out of control You know that again are going to overwhelm our system As everybody maybe also know the our mayor and our county judge is With some orders that we call a stay home and war safe Is some some days ago and actually he became effective on March 23rd at 11 59 p.m. So the stay home and war safe Directors and orders is a collaboration between the city and county officials Again, it is very important This is a very important strategy to flatten the curve again to have the infectious under control to prevent the health care system to be Overwhelmed, you know, and it is important for all of us all the residents to follow these kylons And one of the important things about is staying home Is it's again just not to put ourselves at risk and if anybody Is already infected? Decrease or eliminate the risk to transmit it to somebody else also social distancing Has been put in place at You know some of the aspects in the in the orders You know and also implemented at the workplace with the main purpose of Stay safe for Anybody that needs to work And I know that some of us are working from home, but not not everybody is so if you still need to go Out and perform certain important duties It's important that you maintain also the social distancing of the six feet from all the individuals So also one of the goals of these orders is to limit To the minimum the movement just to the essential trips Now it's important to understand what essential means. So in this case We're talking about business and organization That are providing products or services that are needed for the community during this crisis This is a short list of some of the organizations that are considered doing essential work healthcare Operations obviously because this is part also of the response and also taking care of the sick patients Or the people that are infected critical government functions and services public transportation transportation shocker services constructions utilities and information technology that is obviously very important for for our community in our city and our Businesses and hospitals to operate financial institutions and gross grocery stores. Those are This is a short list of some of the Initiation that I consider Essential for functioning There are some Activities that are allowed under the current orders And this I'm just pointing out them the four major activities that are allowed Currently and that includes activities For health and safety for yourself your family and pets Obtaining necessary supplies for the family in the household that includes obviously a food including supplies and things like that There's also still allowed for us to do some exercising outdoors Maintaining the six foot social distance is very very important to take into consideration If you're gonna go out and ride a bike or walk You know in the trails or the street is very important to still obey and follow this the social distance distancing rules Also when also one of the activities that is allowed again is to work if you are part of Even employee of a vex and business you still need to follow the social distancing recommendations and rules There are some things that are not allowed for instance If you are sick, you're not allowed to live home. Why not only to protect yourselves yourself, but also to protect others a Also, we're not allowed to this things are not considered essential so such as a Going to the hair salon and the barber shop and Visiting friends and guiding outside your home that is not allowed because you know It does it is prevent us to maintain the social distancing and So again outdoor activities can be done Even in small groups, but this the six foot distance is very is required to be to be followed a When it comes to the nursing homes as everybody knows the nursing homes are facilities that have our elderly and Stake people people that need a lot of attention and most of them or the big majority of them have a Related health conditions. So right now, you know, the nursing homes are are prohibition to Allow people to come from the outside for visiting unless they are providing medical assistance or In some instances be sitting somebody a friend or or a family member That is, you know in a terminal stage or he's expected expected to pass away soon When it comes to enforcement of the orders, you know, obviously We are encouraging everybody to comply on their own and In we utilize the low enforcement, you know to enforce that and some officers educate Some of their efforts to do that But we expect voluntary compliance and the the officers that are trying to Educate and the community, you know, have some flexibility So far We have had some reports People are not following the social distance and stay home rules So the officers again are being flexible try to relocate everybody and tell them how important it is and Sometimes they issue warnings if they have not put a lot of, you know A strict, you know behavior, you know, and they are not necessarily Doing fines and all that because again, they are trying to encourage people to Have to follow the rules, but if this continues this Rules can be, you know apply more strictly Now it's important for people to know about testing and it's uh, I want to mention that the the protocol for testing Has been changing over time as a result of the situation. So this is more or less what is the current processes Again, it's still not recommended for everyone to get tested and there's a couple reasons for that One of them is the availability of sufficient tests So basically the The uh, the health care system It's utilizing the test available to be able to assess The the individuals that are, uh, symptomatic, you know, uh, so That's what is recommended for people that have mild symptoms to stay home Isolate isolate themselves And uh, not to overwhelm the health care system And obviously if you're sick, you stay home and you just separate yourself from from the rest of the family And that's what we call it home isolation Now if people have severe symptoms, just like uh, the ones that I mentioned before Which includes fever Cough and shortness of breath It is important to call the doctor or the urgent urgent care clinic Or the emergency emergency department before going This is very important for them to kind of do a pre-assessment and determine if it is imperative that you and see a because They screen in now even the flu z-zone the Intimilar to that's why provider needs to assess and make based on that The medical has a screening tool Anybody can use and it can be found webs and a You'll find and is easy To go through that and determine if you're going to need to A professional to test it A Test is by appointment only You know and it is being emphasized Sponder a help or be able to and again head symptoms Yes, Carlos Carlos, excuse me. I need to interrupt for a second We're we're losing your video and um, and and we're having a little bit of problems with your audio and so We can see the slides on the screen pretty well Um, but um, it it's a little frustrating to Your audio is uh lagging for people right now. Um, there were a whole bunch of questions that came in to the queue And um, I'm wondering if um Carlos you can um Stay in the chat Um, uh and answer some of those questions in the chat. Um I'm the problem is uh That we're having difficulty hearing you so It's it's a little frustrating for people listening. Um, Sophia can Can you perhaps pull up some of the Carlos so we have And those Carlos can we still hear your audio can I can I can hear uh It do you want me to stop the sharing or do you want me to uh I'm gonna I'm gonna close I'm gonna close your screen your your slides and let's see if that makes it your audio better And um, go ahead and Sophia asked a couple of the questions And then we're gonna have to we're gonna have to skid at all so I can get to the next session We have a little under 10 minutes to address some of the questions that came through and of course Carlos We thank you for all the the knowledge that you're sharing One of the questions that we have is is there a fee or a charge for testing? It depends where you go because if you go to urgent Origin care clinic you may be charged for that If there's other organizations that are doing it, uh, you know based on their own sliding scale fee Uh, and I'm thinking also about instance, uh The care clinic is my own sense And to medley doing it for free now if anybody do not have a way to pay for for the testing They can call the hotline a At metro health, which is 210 207 5779 then, uh, the The staff will will inform The the process and the test if it's done in the area where metro health is doing it Then the there's no charge for the testing Wonderful and that phone number is 210 207 5779 correct That is correct and it can be found also in metro health website Perfect, okay Um, let's see. So another question and I think you did touch on this Is metro health allowing testing for anyone who wants it or is the testing limited? I know that you mentioned that um, it's not being encouraged if there's no symptomology Can you say a bit more on that as far as um, what metro health is allowing? That is correct, uh, the the testing is being done right now only for people that have symptoms So if anybody has a doubt if they could Be eligible or it would be good for them to take the test It's important that they call the hotline And they can also call the 311 if that's easier for them and get connected to the hotline and they will Provide directives and determine if they really need to test But if they, uh, meet the criteria or be in symptomatic They will be tested and they will not right now. There is not a requirement In the passive wasp right now. There's no requirement for them to have to be It referred by a physician So depending on the sentiment they present, you know, they can be Directed to take the test and again, it will be free of charge But it's not it's not being done right now for people that do not have symptoms Understood, okay um One last question i'm looking at here is is it recommended that nursing home residents Where staff have tested positive? Should those folks be tested even if they're asymptomatic do you have any thoughts on on that? Yes, my understanding is that the directives that was provided by This the city and the county yesterday is that a all the individuals that are in the um In nursing homes and in those facilities Are being closely monitored particularly with what happened the one on the east side And in which they have an outbreak They are you know testing everybody to make sure that they they are Okay, again, those that's a particular and a very high risk of relation. They are doing testing to All those individuals in the nursing home Understood And so carlos i'm so sorry the the presentation itself lost connection. Do you have any final thoughts? We have about four minutes left. Do you have any final thoughts on? On covet and and what you're wanting to present today Yes, uh, I wanted just to uh, make you aware that obviously we have heard about a lot of uh immigrant population Whether it is documented or undocumented that are being afraid particularly with the with the public charge rules We wanted to clarify that Even immigration uh federal immigration services have clarified that all medical care in regards to kovid 19 will not affect a their cases so Also the immigrants can seek medical attention In the federal qualify health care facilities or at metro health and they will not affect their their situation and the last one is I think when it comes to The the community health workers and social workers in our community That right now the city Is trying to utilize some of that capacity to assist the city in informing certain areas that do not get a lot of information a lot of us have access to You know and a cell phones and messaging and all that but there is an important section A of our community particular uncertainty because that we have identified that need More information and yes actually today we're going to start Targeting some of those zip codes and taking health equity into consideration You know to reach out to that population So, uh, I want to formally invite all the community health workers social workers in our community They want to join their effort To get in contact with me and I can connect it with the, uh A emergency operation center that is coordinated that effort We have to continue we have to continue pushing for Social distancing and prevention Particularly in in the in those communities where we have again people that do not necessarily have access to the same level of information Or data information and accurate and uh information And we need those We need help and if anybody in this, uh summit, you know, is interested You know, let us know we will we will be more than glad to to help you guys join us And and I will appreciate if that's possible and obviously I think it will be, uh Very very important maybe easier to do it through a health collaborative You know to facilitate that in case there's some people that I mean, I know that some people are already doing it but if they if they want to join, uh, the the emergency operation center that is Managing the covid situation in san antonio Let us know and your help is needed in some of those communities and due to your experience working with A low income communities communities of color I think it it will be very very effective We're still going to need to go out and and work with those individuals and those people So it's it's an open invitation and again If we can facilitate that facilitate that through our work with a health collaborative That will be very wonderful. So that is great. Carlos. Thank you so much for that And i'm just going to get your email real quick. Is that an appropriate way to connect with you regarding this? definitely charlotte and jordan also have my email address And and I can facilitate the connection again with the emergency operation center and logistics that are Managing all these efforts with the community health workers right now That's great. Okay. So i'll let the audience know that we'll be sharing that email with you guys Once the summit is completed and carlos. Thank you so much for your time and your efforts here with the summit And for you participants to get to the next session you'll click on the schedule Uh link on the top left of your screen and you'll go ahead and select your next destination However, however, just a quick note the immigration session will be starting a little bit late since I have to go set it up