A resident of San Mateo County tested presumed positive for the novel coronavirus — a case that if confirmed by the federal Centers for Disease Control will be the second in the county.
The report Monday by the county communicable disease control program follows the Centers for Disease Control transferring one positive case Thursday to San Mateo County of a repatriated patient.
San Mateo County has a department operations center at the San Mateo Medical Center campus on West 39th Avenue and an emergency operations center in Redwood City on Winslow Street to respond to the coronavirus.
“The steps by the county put us in a tremendous position,” Supervisor David Canepa said.
“People need to take a step back and relax,” Canepa said. “I’m rather amazed people are going to Costco and stocking up.”
Media reports say that stores have been jammed by customers, panicked by the virus formally called COVID-19, to buy bottled water and other supplies.
The federal Centers for Disease Control is the leading agency about the virus, Canepa said.
“We’re taking direction from them,” he said.
The federal CDC has said the risk of getting the coronavirus in the United States is low.
Mike Callagy, San Mateo county manager, said in an email Monday that “While the public risk of exposure to COVID-19 remains relatively low, the emergency operations center framework helps us make sure that all our departments, cities and partners have the tools and flexibility to prioritize public safety.”
County spokeswoman Michelle Durand said the emergency operations center “gives us a centralized place to collaborate on those resources.”
The California Department of Public Health said on its website that 40 coronavirus cases have been reported in the state as of Sunday.
Coronaviruses are a group of viruses that aren’t new but this is a new type of coronavirus officials are still learning about, the state agency said.
“The health risk to the general public in California remains low,” the state agency said.
While the virus COVID-19 has a high transmission rate, it has a low mortality rate, the agency said.
Dr. William Isenberg, vice president of patient safety at Sutter Health, said Monday in a statement that “We continue to work closely with county, state and federal agencies, including local county health departments and the CDC to address COVID-19 related issues.”
“We are also keeping our staff and affiliated physicians throughout our integrated network prepared for and informed about local health department and CDC guidance regarding patient screening and isolation protocols for COVID-19,” Isenberg said. “Staff have been trained to address infectious respiratory illnesses, including coronavirus.”
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