On Sept. 21, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office notified the Sonoma County Superior Court administrator that a bailiff had tested positive for COVID-19, potentially exposing court personnel and, not incidentally, the public.
That was almost a month ago.
While we know that nine bailiffs tested positive, there still hasn’t been — and probably won’t be — a public accounting of the risk posed to anyone who visited the courthouse in September.
There is, as Staff Writers Emily Wilder and Lori A. Carter reported, an ongoing dispute involving the Sheriff’s Office, the court administration and other justice-related agencies over who is responsible for notifying people who work at the courthouse.
They aren’t the only ones with a need to know.
Hundreds of people pass through the Hall of Justice every day who don’t work for any public agency — witnesses, litigants, jurors, attorneys and jail inmates are the most obvious examples. Other people may stop by to pay a traffic ticket, show support for a friend or loved one in legal trouble or just to watch a trial. Any of them could have been infected, and in turn they could have exposed others to the coronavirus.
“We do not want to risk bringing the delta variant home to family members, some of whom include small children who have not be vaccinated,” Santa Rosa attorney Roy Miller said.
With three-quarters of the eligible population fully vaccinated in Sonoma County, fear of “superspreader” events is fading. But the virus is still spreading, including breakthrough cases, and not everyone is eligible to be vaccinated. People need to remain vigilant; to do so, they need to be informed about outbreaks, especially in busy public places.
If people knew they might have been exposed at the courthouse, they could have taken precautions — getting tested, isolating themselves or consulting a doctor.
It appears that at least some employees of the courts and other public agencies received notification about possible exposure to COVID-19, as is required by state law.
Everyone else was left to rely on the rumor mill, at least until Wilder and Carter broke the story a week ago. Officials said contact tracers would reach out to people who may have been exposed, but none of the lawyers who spoke with The Press Democrat had been contacted.
In some places, an outbreak like the one at the courthouse would be disclosed to the public. Los Angeles County, for example, has identified outbreaks at specific places since the start of the pandemic. So does the state of Oregon. Most California counties do not, citing privacy concerns.
A state law passed in 2020, in response to the pandemic, requires employers to provide written notice to employees who may have been exposed to COVID-19. If three people test positive within 14 days, employers must notify public health authorities.
The law’s author, Assemblywoman Eloise Gómez Reyes, D-San Bernardino, said it was her intention to ensure public notification of outbreaks at specific workplaces. When counties said the law was vague, she introduced a follow-up measure requiring the state Department of Public Health to report COVID-19 outbreaks by workplace. The bill passed, but it was watered down to require disclosure only by industry.
The official excuse for withholding information about outbreaks is patient privacy. No one is asking for individual COVID-19 test results. But telling people about outbreaks at public gathering places will protect individuals and help bring the pandemic to an end.
You can send letters to the editor to letters@pressdemocrat.com.
"occur" - Google News
October 15, 2021 at 02:12PM
https://ift.tt/3lGHmOQ
PD Editorial: Tell the public where COVID outbreaks occur - Santa Rosa Press Democrat
"occur" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2UoDqVw
https://ift.tt/2Wq6qvt
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "PD Editorial: Tell the public where COVID outbreaks occur - Santa Rosa Press Democrat"
Post a Comment