Business Sector Weekly Telebriefing Recap—8/5/20

Thank you to everyone who was able to join us for our COVID-19 Business telebrief today. A special thank you to our telebriefing guests, Gary S. Johnston, Chief Resilience Officer / Agency Representative, San Diego Office of Emergency Services, Dr. Sayone Thihalolipavan, Deputy Public Health Officer, Public Health Services, Health and Human Services Agency, and Dr. Thomas Coleman, Medical Director, Maternal, Child and Family Health, Health and Human Services Agency for joining us to help inform and answer questions for the community about important COVID-19 topics.

Please see attachments of materials shared during today’s telebrief.

FLOWCHART IF AN EMPLOYEE IS SUSPECTED OR CONFIRMED POSITIVE FOR COVID-191,2
FLOWCHART IF AN EMPLOYEE IS SUSPECTED OR CONFIRMED POSITIVE FOR COVID-191,2 SLIDES
FLOWCHART IF HEALTHCARE PERSONNEL (HCP) IS SUSPECTED OR CONFIRMED POSITIVE FOR COVID-19
WATCHLIST CRITIERIA SLIDES

To recap, we discussed the following highlights:
State COVID-19 Watchlist:

• Counties are placed on the state watchlist based on threshold metrics around elevated case transmission, increased hospitalization, and limited hospital capacity.
• San Diego County is monitoring additional triggers like Community Outbreaks and Case Investigation, but we are still on the state watchlist based on our current 14-day case rate of 114.9 per 100,000 (threshold is > 100).
• County must meet the state’s metrics for 3 days to get off watchlist.

Public Health Order updated on 7/30. Item 16 in provides guidance for employers after an employee tests positive.

• Call (888) 950-9905 and leave voicemail with info about the positive case.
• Notify employees who have worked closely with positive individual.
• If there is an outbreak (3 individuals or more), let both employees and customers know.

Returning to work:

• Employees not required to get re-tested before returning to work.
• Those who are severely ill or immunocompromised may need 20 days before returning to work.
• Those who were not hospitalized nor severely ill can return to work after 10 days since start of symptoms and at least 24hr since last fever without the use of fever reducing medications.

·       The county is ramping up compliance efforts and helping businesses increase compliance. Contact the Healthy Compliance Call Center by calling (858) 694-2900.
Followed by Questions asked from the community, and answers:

• Martial Arts Studios
  • Can conduct outdoor operations for adults and youth. Can conduct indoor operations for youth provided they follow sport day camp protocol. [Posted 8/5/2020]
• County Public Health Order updates
  • County Public Health Order updates are notified via email through our distributions promptly from COVID-Business@sdcounty.ca.gov whenever there is an update. [Posted 8/5/2020]
  • Changes made to the Public Health Order will be highlighted in yellow for quick reference. [Posted 8/5/2020]
• Testing and Notifying Employees
  • There does not need to be a test conducted to track the 10- and 20-day time period before the employee can return to work. We rely on the first test for the lab confirmed positive. [Posted 8/5/2020]
  • If a business has separate sites at various locations and the workers do not travel to different sites, employer notification is on a “need to know” basis. [Posted 8/5/2020]
• Adult Dance Classes
  • Adult dance classes indoors are not permitted. [Posted 8/5/2020]
• County Reporting
  • The process outlined by the County to report an employee who tests positive should refer to the attached flow chart for reporting procedures. [Posted 8/5/2020]
  • The County’s Epidemiology department is working to develop an online reporting tool to provide a safe, secure, private, encrypted location for reporting in the future. Stay tuned. [Posted 8/5/2020]
  • If there is a contracted worker working in your space, it should be the direct employer who reports it. Make sure you clarify with all contracting parties are on the same page in terms of reporting. If you meet the new third requirement of an outbreak, include their employees as well. [Posted 8/5/2020]
  • If they tell you they are diagnosed, report it. It is okay to report an unsure case. If they are not actually lab confirmed, we can verify on the back end. [Posted 8/5/2020]
  • Any cases before July 29th are not required to be reported. [Posted 8/5/2020]
• Canopies used for classrooms
  • Anticipate needing 3 sides open. We can consider a state clarification given the tentage requirement was for personal services, not educational purposes. [Posted 8/5/2020]
• Employer Reporting Penalties or Fines
  • If an employer fails to report the employee, it is a misdemeanor for noncompliance. The first approach is to educate and inform. If it is gross negligence or something other than an act of omission, you can get cited. [Posted 8/5/2020]
• Quarantining or Isolating Employees
  • Those exposed and not expressing symptoms must be quarantined for 14 days according to the Public Health Order. Item 16ciii strongly recommends employers to provide notice when at least 1 employee is diagnosed. It is up to the employer’s discretion unless it becomes an outbreak: 3 separate cases within a 14-day period from different households. [Posted 8/5/2020]
    • There are 3 total health orders: Public Health Order, Isolation, and Quarantine.
    • Quarantine: Only related to someone who does not have symptoms (asymptomatic) of COVID-19 but has come into contact with a positive case.
    • Isolation: Someone who has symptoms or has tested positive for COVID-19.
• Vendor Noncompliance in Pacific Beach
  • Since there are 14 industry sectors and thousands of businesses and activities county-wide, the focus for Compliance teams are currently on egregious violations. The Board of Supervisors has approved to hire additional team members. Pacific Beach is a City of San Diego jurisdiction where concerns should also be relayed to local jurisdiction leadership – City Manager. [Posted 8/5/2020]
• Essential Services/Workers
  • Self-screening and temperature checks are suitable alternatives according to California Department of Public Health guidelines. The key is for the employer to be able to “inspect what you expect” – log the screenings and ensure they are being done. [Posted 8/5/2020]
  • If an employee tests positive for COVID-19, people can be infectious up to 48 hours before they develop symptoms. Go back 2 days before symptoms develop once there is a known exposure. [Posted 8/5/2020]
• Social Distancing
  • Tournaments are not permitted. Report violations to the Healthy Compliance Call Center at 858-694-2900. [Posted 8/5/2020]
• Screening and Testing
  • If you have 1 employee that is positive, you identify close contacts to that employee and quarantine. You don’t necessarily have to test the other employees. They should talk to their individual providers to get testing. If an employer or provider cannot pay for testing, the county and state testing sites are available at no cost. [Posted 8/5/2020]
  • If an employee has COVID-19 symptoms but has yet to take the test, an employer can contact their physician to verify the suspect of a positive case. Until the employee is diagnosed, there is currently no requirement to notify other employees. [Posted 8/5/2020]
• Residential Health Order Violations
  • Report health order violations by calling (858) 694-2900. [Posted 8/5/20]
• Face Coverings for Children Aged 2 Years and Older
  • State guidelines make face coverings for people 2 years or older mandatory. [Posted 8/5/20]
• Projected Office Reopening Date 
  • San Diego County needs to meet the state’s metrics for 3 days to get off the watchlist. Since we are on the watchlist based on our case rate, San Diego County would need to have less than a 100 per 100,000 14-day case rate (we are currently at 114.9). After we get off the watchlist, we will have a discussion with the state on what we can start reopening. See “Watchlist Criteria Slides” PPT attached to this recap email for more details on the watchlist timeline. To prepare for office reopening, please see COVID-19 Industry Guidance: Office Workspaces. [Posted 8/5/20]
• Elementary School Waiver 
  • Guidance on Elementary School Waiver is found on the state website. For additional insight on the waiver process in San Diego County, you can email COVID-Education@sdcounty.ca.gov. [Posted 8/5/20]
• Action Steps for Employers Responding to Employees Who Have Been Exposed to Positive COVID-19 Individual
  • Refer to the State’s COVID-19 Employer Playbook for Safe Reopening. [Posted 8/5/20]
• Notifying Employees Who Have Been in Close Contact with Another Employee Displaying Symptoms of COVID-19
  • Per San Diego County Public Health Order, item 16ciii, it is strongly recommended that employers provide notice when at least one employee is diagnosed with COVID-19 in the workplace. Per the State’s COVID-19 Employer Playbook for Safe Reopening, page 5, employers must notify all workers who were potentially exposed to the individual(s) with COVID-19. [Posted 8/5/20]
• Golf Tournaments
  • Per the San Diego County Public Health Order, all public or private gatherings are prohibited. Read section 22 of Public Health Order. [Posted 8/5/20]

Websites/Resources mentioned:

• Positive Employee Flowchart - Non-healthcare Employees

• Positive Employee Flowchart – Healthcare Employees
• California Department of Industrial Relations Safe Reopening FAQs for Workers and Employers
• State Employer Playbook for Safe Reopening
• Public Health Order
• Phone number for employers to notify County of San Diego Public Health Services about an employee who tests positive with COVID-19: (888) 950-9905. Leave a message with:
  • Your name and contact number
  • Name of Business
  • Employee’s name, date of birth, and contact number
• Healthy Compliance Call Center: (858) 694-2900
• Quarantine Health Officer Order
• Live Well San Diego Virtual 5K – virtual race is August 16
• FDA updates on hand sanitizers consumers should not use
• San Diego County COVID-19 Resources and Updates

Please note we appreciate questions submitted during Q&A section of the telebrief. We are working hard to get the answers for some questions we need to follow up on. Once this information is available, it will be sent out via future email update.


We will be meeting again next Wednesday, August 12th from 9:30 AM – 10:30 AM. To request resources, ask questions, or address concerns, please contact COVID-Business@sdcounty.ca.gov.