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Public Health Status Update for 03/15/2024

Marin County Public Health Status Update for Friday, March 15, 2024, includes Update on Fentanyl Overdose Spike: Request for Feedback; Flood Vulnerability Dashboard Launched; Four Years; and COVID-19 Data Update.  … Read More

COVID-19 Status Update for 07/01/2020

The status update for July 1, 2020, includes an update from Dr. Willis about the San Quentin outbreak, expanded virtual options for mental health services, more ideas for a close-to-home holiday weekend, a facial covering reminder, service impact updates for the holiday weekend, and updated COVID-19 data.

Message From the Public Health Officer: San Quentin Update

Dr. Willis provides an update on the COVID-19 outbreak taking place at San Quentin State Prison, including new steps the State is taking to address the issue.

Youtube Video
Remote video URL

COVID-19 Data Update:

Below is a summary of today’s data now available on Marin Data & Surveillance webpage. View the page to review a broader range of data, plus interactive graphs for confirmed COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths. Data analysis is available by age range, gender, race and city/town/geographic region. Questions about the data? See our Data FAQ or contact us.

COVID-19 activity in Marin:

Marin Confirmed Cases**

1,259

Marin Cases Recovered

871

Marin Deaths

19

Marin Current Hospitalizations

23

Marin Cumulative Hospitalizations**

69

Tests Completed in Marin:

32,025

Residential Care and Skilled Nursing Facility COVID-19 activity:

Positive Patients at Facilities cumulative

44

Positive Patients at Facilities current

9

Positive Staff at Facilities cumulative    

71

Positive Staff at Facilities current

23

Facilities with current positive Patients/Staff

8

State COVID-19 activity:

California Confirmed Cases

236,383

California Deaths

6,155

San Quentin State Prison COVID-19 activity:

San Quentin Active Cases**

1,135

San Quentin cases are not included in Marin’s cumulative counts for cases or hospitalizations [Details on our Data FAQ]. We report San Quentin total cases as reported by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. (To view data, visit CDCR’s COVID-19 Tracing Dashboard, and then select “Institution View” tab at the bottom and filter to “CA State Prison, San Quentin in the upper right-hand corner.)

Virtual Options Expanded for Mental Health Services

Internet and phone services have been the primary ways to ensure continuity of care during the COVID-19 pandemic, including from providers of behavioral health services throughout Marin County. In a joint statement, representatives from Marin health care providers have explained how the public health emergency has affected service delivery.

At the County of Marin, those web and phone services – collectively called video telehealth – has been expanded to all Marin County Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Behavioral Health and Recovery Services Division (BHRS) programs.

“With the COVID-19 pandemic constantly evolving, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed, afraid, isolated, and hopeless, and it’s crucial to remember that taking care of our mental and emotional well-being is just as important as taking care of our physical health,” said Dr. Jei Africa, Director of BHRS.   

Anyone feeling overwhelmed can take steps to improve mental health every day. Small actions can be helpful in boosting emotional health, such as talking with friends, family and support systems, exercising, eating balanced and healthy meals, taking a break from stressful tasks, making a list of things that one is grateful for, maintaining a routine, and getting a good night’s sleep.

Africa said Marin BHRS saw a decrease in the number of mental health and substance abuse services at the beginning of the shelter-in-place order. However, the staff is seeing a gradual increase throughout many of its programs.

BHRS is always open and regularly offers free online public workshops. Sessions range from suicide prevention conversations to support for suicide loss survivors to parenting support to a LGBTQ+ town hall. Any resident experiencing a mental health or substance use issue can call the 24-hour, confidential access line at 1-888-818-1115. Marin BHRS provides outpatient, residential, crisis services, and hospital care addressing specialty mental health and substance use service needs of Marin Medi-Cal beneficiaries and uninsured residents.

Throughout Marin, health organizations saw similar patterns with the need for increased telehealth services and higher demands for services. View the joint statement from the County of Marin, MarinHealth, Kaiser Permanente, Sutter Health, Marin Community Clinics, Marin City Health and Wellness Center and Coastal Health Alliance.

A virtual event is being planned for July 22 to bring Marin agencies together. Participants will hear more about responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and what additional patterns are emerging for behavioral health needs in Marin. The goal is to prepare for the emerging needs in Marin County and develop additional ways to support residents. For updates, visit marinhhs.org/bhrs.

 

Enjoy the holiday weekend close to home (and still have fun!)

With the COVID-19 pandemic and the upcoming holiday weekend, Marin County Public Health reminds residents there are ways to enjoy the holiday weekend safely. Get creative and have fun this Independence Day! If you need some suggestions, here's a list of safe and fun activities for you and your family to consider:

  • Attend the Virtual Marin County Fair, July 1-5: Watch music, dance and acrobatic performances; share your art and favorite fair memories; and watch a virtual firework show at 9pm on July 4. (Schedule) (Watch Performances)
  • Go camping in your own backyard: Set up a tent and enjoy a night under the stars 
  • Have a dance off: Light the night with glow sticks and dance to your favorite tunes 
  • Pack a picnic and visit a local park: Remember to follow all posted signage
  • Make a festive snack or craft: Enjoy a patriotic DIY project with the kids 
  • Watch a movie under the stars: Check YouTube to learn how to make a projector using your smart phone
  • Create a waterpark at home: Set up sprinklers and a splash pool filled with water balloons
  • Plan an online watch party: Enjoy a patriotic fireworks show online
  • Have a sports-a-thon: Plan a friendly competition with members of your household
  • Fly a kite: Add to the fun and build your own kite 
  • Go for a bike ride: Enjoy a bike ride around your neighborhood or local park

 

Reminder: Face Coverings are Mandatory in Marin

Under the authority of the California Emergency Services Act, Governor Newsom issued a mandate that everyone must wear a mask when in public settings. This means face coverings are required for everyone over 2 years old when:

  • at indoor AND outdoor businesses – whether as an employee or a customer
  • waiting in line to enter a store
  • waiting for and using public transit
  • when in a taxi or rideshare
  • when seeking healthcare; or visiting a hospital, medical clinic, pharmacy, laboratory, dental office, veterinary clinic or blood bank
  • walking outside and within 6 feet of others (about the length of a mattress)

The only exceptions are for people for whom a face covering may not be safe (for example, children 2 and under, or anyone who has trouble breathing or is unable to remove a face covering without assistance).

Learn how wear face coverings properly, how to make your own, and answers to your face covering questions at https://coronavirus.marinhhs.org/masks

 

Status Updates Now Monday-Friday; Data Still Available on Weekends

To streamline our response and maintain staffing for the long-term response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, we are adjusting the Daily Status publishing schedule to Monday – Friday only (no written updates on weekends). By providing status updates on the weekdays, and keeping data updated on the weekends, we will continue to provide the information pertinent to the COVID-19 pandemic and our response.

 

Holiday Closures and Service Adjustments

During the Independence Day holiday weekend, some of our services will be temporarily unavailable.  This includes:

  • Call Center (415-473-7191): closed, Friday, July 3 and will reopen Monday, July 6.
  • Data & Surveillance webpage: Will not be updated July 3-5, but will resume updates Monday, July 6. The dashboard on our homepage (which provides a snapshot of data) will continue to be updated over the weekend.

 

Where to get the latest information:

Have questions?  Individuals can contact Marin Health and Human Services with non-medical questions about the coronavirus by email or by calling (415) 473-7191 (Monday – Friday, 9:30am to 12-noon and 1pm to 5pm).

 

 

Message for our social media followers:

If you typically access our Status Updates via social media (e.g., Facebook, Twitter or Nextdoor), you will find that we have retired our blue statistics graphic. Why?  Two reasons:

  1. Infographics of that nature are difficult to access by individuals with visual disabilities (e.g., people who rely on screen readers to browse the internet);
  2. The graphic was originally meant to highlight some of our high-level statistics. However, the broad range of data supplied in our daily status updates and on our data surveillance page has grown to surpass what could be displayed in one simple graphic.

We want our readers to be able to review the daily data all at once (and not base assumptions on just those few that were highlighted on the graphic).Therefore, we’re providing you a simple graphic that links directly to the data and full report. While we’ve reorganized the way in which the data is displayed in the daily Status Update, rest assured that all the same data points are still included.  And, remember that you can access even more data at coronavirus.marinhhs.org/surveillance.