Message from the Public Health Officer:
Closing schools to students and cancelling large gatherings are protective measures that can help slow the spread of disease. We all – individuals and organizations - need to abide by these recommendations. We must also continue the everyday measures that prevent transmission of disease. These include staying home when you are sick, washing your hands, covering your cough and staying away from others who may be sick.
Here’s a graphic from the CDC that helps explain why both individual and community measures are crucial. The goal of all of our work together is to “flatten the curve” – that is, slowing epidemic spread and limiting the number of people infected.
School Classroom Closure Recommended:
Today, Marin County Public Health and Marin County Office of Education (MCOE) issued a recommendation that public schools suspend classroom activity for at least two weeks. Its recognized that schools offer opportunities for community spread, and children coming home from school can pose a risk for intergenerational spread. One of our primary goals is to protect Marin’s significant population of seniors.
MCOE is working with local districts, schools, and community organizations to meet the needs of students who rely on schools for subsidized meals, special care and other resources. Families will receive information from respective schools related to those needs and opportunities for students to continue learning from home.
Guidance for Childcare Facilities:
Like the school environment, kids coming home from daycare, preschools and childcare program also pose a risk for transmission to family members, especially grandparents and older care givers.
Today, Marin Health and Human Services issued new guidance that addresses childcare, including family childcare programs, daycare, preschools and childcare programs.
New Respiratory Illness Data Released:
One of our primary goals in Health and Human Services is to have a means to detect any increases in COVID-19 activity in Marin county.
Today, Marin County Public Health launched a new system that tracks respiratory illnesses from 9-1-1 emergency responses and hospital emergency departments. Although this tool was created for health care providers, Marin HHS has made it publicly available to provide more insight on Marin’s current respiratory illness activity each day with comparisons to the past two years. The surveillance updates will be available daily at marinhhs.org/coronavirus/data.
COVID-19 activity in Marin:
- Confirmed cases with known source: 3
- Confirmed cases from local transmission: 0
- COVID-19 related deaths in Marin: 0
- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Governor’s Office of Emergency Services is managing the evaluation, quarantine and testing of passengers from the Grand Princess Cruise -- Hawaiian voyage. This afternoon, a new update revealed progress in debarking passengers and relocating them to isolation areas. Marin Health Officials are still awaiting the ship’s manifest to determine which passengers – if any – are Marin County residents.
- As of March 13 at 8:00a.m., there are 247 cases and three deaths in California, according to the California Department of Public Health.
Where to get the latest information:
Visit the official Marin County Coronavirus webpage (MarinHHS.org/coronavirus) review answers to frequently asked questions, access guidance for special groups and subscribe for email updates. Today, we unveiled a new look and layout for the website so we can provide you with important information in an easy-to-find format.
Have questions? Individuals can contact Marin Health and Human Services with non-medical questions about the coronavirus by calling (415) 473-7191 (Monday – Friday, 9:30am to 12-noon and 1pm to 5pm) or emailing COVID-19@marincounty.org.