The Mendocino County Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder Katrina Bartolomie has announced they’ve still got more than 15,000 ballots to process in the official canvass after Super Tuesday. There are 14,993 Vote By Mail ballots to process and 1,575 Conditional Provisional/Provisional ballots to review and process. They do have 30 days to complete the process before announcing the official Statement of Vote, which breaks down results by precinct.
There are no confirmed cases of coronavirus in Mendocino County, but the County has announced they’re getting ready in case there’s a pandemic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) are encouraging counties and cities to prepare. But Mendocino County has NO evidence of community spread so far. The Mendocino County Health Officer Dr. Noemi Doohan has not ordered any events be canceled, but the County’s encouraging event organizers have a plan to modify, cancel, or postpone due to the outbreak of coronavirus, promote messages discouraging sick people from attending events, encourage social distancing and possible live stream participation and have prevention supplies at events, like soap, hand sanitizers, and tissues.
The Governor and mayors in the state had a meetup to discuss a plan to fight homelessness. The crisis hit Calif hard last year, with a 16% spike. The housing crisis is not helping, neither is the state’s cost of living. The governor has a plan to set aside $750 million for 10 regions which have not been named yet. The proposal was reportedly updated Friday so that local governments or groups of governments can be their own regional administrators. But the mayors of 13 of the largest cities were varied in their degrees of agreement. Nine of them supporting a proposal to come up with $500 million a year for homelessness programs by raising taxes on some homeowners.
Another death in the state from coronavirus. This time in Santa Clara County. In Lake County, the Public Health Officer Dr. Gary Pace has not said how many tests they’ve conducted, but that there are no cases and the chance of a spread here is low. Some tests have been done, but they’re all negative. Pace says several county health departments in the Bay Area are not releasing details publicly on testing. There were almost 40 cases in Santa Clara County out of the 130 cases in the state.
A man in Lakeport accused of illegally carrying a gun onto school grounds and having drugs on him has pleaded not guilty. Michael Richard King is charged with illegal possession of a weapon (a felony), possession of weapon on school grounds, possession of methamphetamine and possession of more than one ounce of marijuana. His lawyer asked for the case to be continued as there may be a resolution. They’re headed back to court March 24th after the January incident where King was arrested for carrying a knife on a middle school campus. The school resource officer saw him and his knife and arrested him there. He was held on $15,000 bail, but is no longer in jail.
Some official information’s been sent to public schools in Calif. since the outbreak of coronavirus. The California public health dept sent the guidance with a statement from the Gov. which said it’s a matter of time until some schools will have to be closed because of the virus. It goes on to say that school districts need to prepare for various scenarios so parents and students can plan for what would happen if their local school faced closure. This came just after the Elk Grove Unified School District, the 5th largest in the state, closed, after a family had to be quarantined after at least one of the family members tested positive for the virus. The guidance sent over the weekend as Stanford University announced all classes would be online. As did USC this week, and may continue beyond that. UC Berkeley also closed, suspending in person classes until the end of the month. UC Davis is allowing students and teachers to make their own decision.
A new report shows California is number four on the list for the highest rate of homelessness in the U.S. PsyDprograms.org, a psychology degree website studied the crisis on the State of Homelessness in America. They used data through 2019 from the Department of Housing and Urban Development showing the rankings across the country. Calif. had nearly 383 homeless out of 100,000 people and had the 47th highest percentage of women in a homeless population and 50 highest percentage of children in a homeless population. The 10 highest homelessness rates: D.C., New York, Hawaii, California, Oregon, Washington, Massachusetts, Alaska, Nevada and Vermont. The lowest was Mississippi.
The 4th annual senior summit is canceled. The event has been planned by the Lake County Silver Foundation to honor seniors for inspirational lives, achievements and their continuing legacy. But the foundation says since the event is set for April 4th, they’re concerned about the large group gathering especially as seniors have been named the most vulnerable for coronavirus, so they’re postponing. The group says they’ll keep the public informed, plus they’re coming up with health and resource newsletter with information for Lake County seniors. Anyone who signed up will be notified by phone when the new event is happening.
But in Ukiah, the Redwood Region Logging Conference is still happening. For their 2020 Achievement Award, they’ve named Willits resident and businessman Phil Shuster. The event, its 82nd, is happening March 20th at the Redwood Empire Fairgrounds. Shuster’s been working in the timber industry for five decades. He has a degree in forestry and has been working in the field ever since and has been active in various Timber Industry organizations.
The California Department of Public Health asking residents at higher risk for serious illness from coronavirus to try to reduce their risk. Those groups include the elderly, those with compromised immune systems, others with serious chronic medical conditions like heart disease, diabetes and lung disease. A reminder to wash your hands longer than 20 seconds especially after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing, or having been in a public place. Try not to touch your eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands. Avoid close contact with those who are sick, stay away from large gatherings and crowds and stay home as often as possible.
The Clearlake City Council moving forward to accept a state grant so the city can be prepared for future public safety power shutoffs. This after PG&E had several intentional power downs last fall in severe fire weather with seasonal high winds and dry conditions. A grant application was sent to the California Office of Emergency Services. The city applied for and received a $268,500 Public Safety Power Shutoff Resiliency Allocation to Cities grant. The city received the full amount of what it applied for. The city council discussed the grant at their meeting last week. Lake Co News reports the grants are for cities that are incorporated. So they get prepared and can respond to the power shutoffs by buying backup generators, create continuity plans and post-event reports, conduct risk assessments for infrastructure and public education materials.
A medical emergency reported in Fort Bragg has the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office reporting to the scene. An off duty Deputy Sheriff had reportedly overdosed so a sergeant who responded, administering Narcan and calling their boss, the Sheriff. Apparently drug paraphernalia and drugs were found at the house. The Sheriff has asked the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office to investigate and their Narcotics team was assigned to the investigation too. A search warrant was served by the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Dept. No more info has been released, except that the off-duty deputy involved has been put on paid administrative leave, which is standard policy.
An update released by the United States Department of Health and Human Services and the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services on the Princess Cruise Ship that was docked in the Port of Oakland to offload several hundred passengers who may have been exposed to the coronavirus. More than 400 people were disembarked including 173 US residents yesterday. 149 were taken to Travis Air Force Base, including 24 who were transported on an ambulance. 234 were Canadians, all but 2 went home. More passengers disembarked today.
The public health officer in Lake County has declared a local public health emergency. Monday, Dr. Gary Pace declared the emergency, even though there are no cases of coronavirus, also known as COVID-19. It’s so the County can be proactive and expedite their planning and response to any potential cases and to get additional resources available for the County to limit and slow community spread of the disease. The risk is still low according to Pace, but the agency is asking all community members to plan ahead for possible local cases and the possibility of community spread. The County reports working closely with federal, state, and local partners to provide the public with accurate information about actions to be taken to reduce the spread and if you need to, care for those who may become ill with this virus.
People Can Protect Themselves By:
The best way to prevent the spread of illness, including; seasonal flu, novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and other respiratory illness is to practice everyday illness prevention steps:
- Washing hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom; before eating; and after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing
- If soap and water are not readily available, use alcohol-based sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol, making sure to rub your hands together until the sanitizer is dry
- Cover you cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash
- Avoiding touching eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands.
- Avoiding close contact with people who are sick.
- Staying home if you are sick, especially from work, school and public places.
- Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.
Personal Preparation Measures Include:
- Gradually stock up extra supplies of important items, such as: soap, hand sanitizer, tissues, over the counter medications and prescription medications.
- Gradually stock up on non-perishable foods.
- Create a back-up plan for work, school and childcare in the event of closures.
- Talk to your workplace about getting ready. Plan for telework, if possible.
- Create a space in your home to care for sick family members.
- Replace handshakes with elbow-bumps – make a game of this with your kids.
What to Do if You Think You’re Sick:
Previously, all testing was being performed at the CDC laboratory in Atlanta.
Diagnostic testing for Coronavirus is becoming more available with state testing at nineteen (19) California Public Health Laboratories including in Sonoma County. Commercial labs like Quest are now offering these tests. Unfortunately, the capacity continues to be limited, so during this transition period, only the highest risk patients are recommended to receive testing. Speak with your medical provider if you have symptoms.
Call Ahead if You Have Symptoms:
If you develop a fever, cough and shortness of breath, and believe you could have COVID-19, notify your healthcare provider by phone. Call ahead so that you can be safely evaluated and prevent exposing others.
Always check with trusted sources for the latest accurate information about novel coronavirus COVID-19 by visiting the following websites:
CDC Website: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov
CDPH Website:
https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/Immunization/nCOV2019.aspx
and/or contact Lake County Public Health (707) 263-1090 http://health.co.lake.ca.us/
