Update for June 12

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Message from Helen Robbins-Meyer, Chief Administrative Officer

Gyms, movie theaters, museums, breweries, hotels, condominium swimming pools – those are all among the businesses and activities able to reopen across San Diego today. We expect the state to announce nail salons, tattoo parlors and other personal services can open next Friday.

It’s great news that we can start to enjoy these things again, and that people can get back to work in those industries. A giant BUT here. I can’t stress enough it doesn’t mean we’re simply getting back to normal. The danger of COVID-19 has not diminished. The restrictions we’ve endured had success in slowing its spread and bought time for our health care system to manage the disease. It doesn’t mean we’ve got it beat. Several states, including our neighbor Arizona, have had steep recent increases in cases.  

So amid the excitement of reopening, we all need to prepare ourselves for the possibility of tightening back down again. Our doctors and epidemiology staff are monitoring a set of criteria that would “trigger” dialing back. You can check out a dashboard that shows what we’re tracking and the current status.

Meanwhile, we’ve continued to expand testing in the region, which is critical to keeping infected people from spreading the virus and giving us a picture that helps us focus our efforts. Today we launched a new tool to help people find free testing locations and make appointments online.

No one wants to see us step backward. That’s why it’s so important for everyone to remain vigilant and keep up all the practices that have helped us make progress. Face coverings, hand-washing, cleaning surfaces, staying six feet apart, keeping to your household. I know they all get tedious, but they’re basic things we can do that have a big impact.

So hit the gym, hit the beach (you can park there now!), hop in your condo’s pool. Just do it with the precautions we have in place so that we can keep a check on the virus and continue to enjoy these activities.

Hearing Calls for Justice

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Message from Helen Robbins-Meyer, Chief Administrative Officer

Since I last spoke to you, we’ve seen days of protests continue across the country and here in San Diego. They’ve been overwhelmingly peaceful, but no less impassioned in their calls for justice.

The police killing of George Floyd is painful to watch by itself. But it’s not by itself. It’s the latest addition to a long history of institutional violence committed against Black people in America. It’s the latest example that, despite progress we’ve made, racism still exists in our society, even among those sworn to protect us. 

The combined weight of that history and these incidents produces pain, frustration and anger that’s impossible for those of us who are not Black to truly understand. We do need to recognize and accept their experience and emotions. We can all listen to the messages coming from the peaceful marches in the streets and our communities, and continue to learn about the full scope of racism and the ways we need to confront it.

When we talk about institutional racism, we have to recognize – the County is an institution. We are the institution. We need to take the uncomfortable step of looking at our own operations for practices or policies that perpetuate bias, whether in our workplace or in the communities we serve. We must reject discrimination and any action that denies equal justice for all.  

We need to study social justice and equity in our budgeting process. How we choose to spend the public’s money is a direct reflection of our values.

We need to open up dialogue, including holding focus groups with community members and among employees, to discuss what’s often been ignored.

We’ll direct our Diversity & Inclusion Executive Council to do a thorough review of the goals and actions needed to root out and keep out institutionalized racism.

We’ll engage our Employee Resource Groups so they can better bring their perspectives and lived experience into our operations. They shared a powerful message on the protests I encourage you to read.

Before George Floyd was killed, but after several racist or hate-driven incidents in our county, our Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to bring back a human relations commission and named it in honor of political pioneer and community leader Leon Williams. He was the County’s first African American supervisor and started its original human relations commission decades ago. Its goal is to help unite the community and promote equity.

Our Sheriff and all other local law enforcement agencies last week took action to ban the carotid hold. That showed a willingness to rethink and quickly change policies, a readiness to act that we will need to repeat in other areas.  

I applaud the deputies and officers who have reached out to stand, pray, hug and walk alongside protesters. Those simple gestures build trust, something we’ll need to do much more of. 

None of these steps alone will provide a quick fix. It will take all of them and more, and much hard work, to achieve the just outcomes all people deserve.

I’m thankful the protests have continued to be peaceful, allowing us to put our attention where it belongs: on having heartfelt conversations that lead to education, understanding and real change.

ERG Council Statement on Protests

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The Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) stand in solidarity with peaceful protestors responding to the violence, economic inequality and prejudice that are occurring today. We speak with one voice and say that injustice is unacceptable. To not speak up during this turning point in San Diego and across our nation would be complicity on our part. We call on those in positions of power and privilege to stand for our brothers and sisters who have had their voices silenced and break the cycles of violence and racism in our country.

ERGs are formed to provide community and foster deeper connection within historically marginalized groups. We are committed to increasing awareness of culture, race and ethnic relations among our County employees and the communities we represent. We support social justice and encourage discussions to improve the socio-economic, cultural, and public health well-being of our members and our communities.

We pledge to continue to be part of the solution and be voices of change that address the deep and complex issues affecting race, culture, inequality, violence, representation, and economic improvement.

We encourage all our members and County family to get involved: donate to an affiliated cause, contact your local elected officials to ensure they hear your concerns, use your social media and contact networks to have important conversations, and take care of one another. 

Dr. Keisha Clark, Chair

Ben Parmentier, Co-Chair

ERGCouncil@sdcounty.ca.gov

Update for June 1

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Message from Helen Robbins-Meyer, Chief Administrative Officer

Today I’m shifting from my updates on our COVID-19 response to talk about the protests across the nation and here in San Diego County, especially in their direct impact on our operations.

On Saturday, demonstrators gathered in La Mesa around our library, and last night, outside our County Administration Center. As has happened in so many situations like this, the vast majority protested thoughtfully and peacefully. Their voices exposed deep emotions regarding bias and disparities. Difficult words but important for all to hear. A few allowed their anger to spill over and cause damage to our library and to the County Administration Center. Thankfully, the damage is relatively minor, but enough that we need to close these facilities during the clean-up and repair until we are sure it is safe for employees and the public to enter. This will take a few days.

What will take much more than a few days is addressing the underlying issues that the protesters are raising.

We all need to open our ears and our hearts. But we also must not allow violence to threaten property and lives. The destruction that happened in La Mesa is not acceptable. The laws that protect our free speech are a blessing. We’re so lucky to live in a country where we can speak up and demand change to correct wrongs. But the laws that protect our safety and our property are equally important. We can’t lose sight of the rule of law or the freedom to speak out.

The events of the last several days have left us all filled with emotions. Anger. Frustration. Maybe even despair. But I see the hope that lies ahead. We have all been stirred. And when we all are stirred, we can commit ourselves to action.

The County has started initiatives like Live Well Communities, our Employee Resource Groups and Diversity & Inclusion, because we acknowledge the many issues we need to address. Unconscious bias is real. Health inequities are evident. And justice disparities exist.

And as public servants, we are in positions to do something about it. Our responsibility is to have a positive impact on our community. We need to look at how we learn from this moment and turn it into an opportunity to create a better, more just world.

Hours after vandals struck La Mesa this weekend, a much bigger mob descended – with brooms, buckets and paint rollers. Cleaning away ingrained biases and disparities will take much more effort than sweeping up broken glass. But we can, we must, harness that same spirit of coming together to right wrongs and direct it toward making sure our vision of healthy, safe and thriving reaches ALL San Diegans.

Together, we can do this. We must do this.


Update for May 29

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Message from Helen Robbins-Meyer, Chief Administrative Officer

So many of you at the County have done remarkable work getting us through this difficult time. But, this being a public health crisis, today I want to offer special recognition to our public health team.

It starts with our public health officer, Dr. Wilma Wooten. After a couple months of almost daily news briefings, she’s now a familiar face all over San Diego. She’s guided us through a challenge like nothing we’ve ever experienced. Remember this is a new virus. Scientists’ understanding of it evolves daily. Dr. Wooten has relied on data and the best available facts, and has always acted out of devotion to the welfare of our residents. A Union-Tribune profile last Sunday dived a little deeper into her COVID-19 work and her life of service.

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She gets the spotlight, but there’s a big incredible team right behind her. Doctors. Legions of nurses. Epidemiologists, including the contact tracers and investigators I mentioned the other day. Laboratory staff. Data specialists. Health communicators. Our Medical Operations Center, rounding up medical equipment and supplies, and coordinating with the health care community. Various support staff. 

All these folks have worked tirelessly the last few months. Looking back at where we were just a short a time ago, it’s phenomenal how much they’ve accomplished. I’ll reemphasize the dynamic nature of this new health threat and the need to respond to changing guidance and situations on the ground. That constant shifting has made the work all the more demanding.

The good news is that all their efforts are paying off. We’re keeping the spread of the virus at manageable levels, which means we can start to reopen. There’s a long road ahead, and the work will continue. But let’s pause for a moment and extend our gratitude to everyone in public health for so skillfully rising to the challenge of protecting us, keeping us safe.  

Update for May 27

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Message from Helen Robbins-Meyer, Chief Administrative Officer

Did you know we have hundreds of new colleagues at the County, hired to play an essential role in our fight against COVID-19?

They’re members of our contact tracing team. We’ve brought hundreds of temporary employees on board in just a few weeks, and combined with some existing County employees, we’re nearly to our goal of 450 staff focused on this activity.

Contact tracing staff identify close contacts of positive cases, explain quarantine, monitor for symptoms and check in with them during their 14-day monitoring period. The tracing staff also connect them to testing and other service referrals as needed. This is critical to keeping COVID-19 from spreading in the community and is part of our T3 Strategy: test, trace and treat.

Contact tracing is not new to the County. Our epidemiology staff rely on these specialists to control other diseases, like measles. What’s new is the scale of this effort. More than a hundred investigators, who talk to positive cases. Two hundred contact tracers, who follow up with positive cases’ contacts. And a few dozen others in support roles.

On top of that, we’re partnering with San Diego State to provide another 100+ tracers to help with contact tracing in underserved areas. These will include people serving as community health workers, making sure our work is culturally sensitive.

It’s been impressive to watch this all ramp up so quickly, from starting the hiring, to training, to getting the tracers making their contacts. My thanks to everyone who has made this happen, and welcome to our new co-workers joining us in protecting the public’s health.

Update for May 22

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Message from Helen Robbins-Meyer, Chief Administrative Officer

It was a big week for San Diego and all of us working on the COVID-19 response. You’ve no doubt seen that the governor gave us the OK to move through Stage 2 of reopening, meaning restaurants and retailers can now have customers back inside.

What most folks didn’t see is all the work that went into preparing our “attestation” that we’re ready for this next step. It required extensive documentation and a huge effort by some of our colleagues. Big shout-out to them for a job well done.   

While we’re making progress, it’s essential to remember where we are – in the middle of a gradual process that has to put the public’s health first. As we head into a holiday weekend, a reminder that gatherings are still off limits. No backyard barbecues with anyone outside your household. You can walk on the beach, but no setting up a traditional Memorial Day beach party.

We’ve kept the impacts of the virus at a manageable level because of our preventive actions. The stay-at-home restrictions, the face coverings, the rules for reopened business. It’s all hard, but it’s paid off in lives saved. We have to remain careful and continue to take the direction of our medical professionals.

As places continue to open, it will be less about stay home, more about stay safe. I appreciate everything that everyone has gone through to get us this far. Let’s not let up. Enjoy your long holiday weekend, and do so safely.