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MINUTES - Draft <br /> ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH <br /> April 22, 2020 <br /> • On April 9, 2020, Secretary Mandy Cohen waived accreditation and granted a 12 month <br /> extension for all fully accreditated local health departments (LHDs) in NC. <br /> • On April 15, 2020, Secretary Mandy Cohen issued a public health waiver to all LHDs in <br /> which they received six waivers that will not endanger public health and will provide <br /> necessary relief to allow us to focus efforts on responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. <br /> (See Health Director's report a for list of specific activities waived.) <br /> • Orange County is currently ranked number 1 out of 100 counties in the state for its <br /> response rate to the Census. <br /> • Jessica Frega, Chair, asked if it would be helpful not taking the BOH per diem to which Ms. <br /> Stewart replied it's up to the Board. Ms. Frega proposed to the Board the option of not <br /> accepting the per diem so that it can be used at the OCHD. Many Board members voiced <br /> their eagerness to do so. Board members that wished to do so were directed to send an <br /> email to La Toya Strange, specifying whether they wanted to forego their per diem for <br /> remainder of FY 19-20 and if they wanted their per diem to be used in a particular <br /> department. <br /> The BOH members had questions that were addressed by Ms. Stewart. <br /> B. COVID-19 Q &A <br /> Quintana Stewart, Health Director, gave an update on the COVID-19 status in Orange County <br /> as well as took questions from the Board. Some highlights are below. <br /> • As of today at 11 am, <br /> ➢ in NC, there are: <br /> 0 7,220 confirmed lab cases <br /> 0 242 deaths <br /> 0 434 hospitalizations <br /> o UNC-Chapel Hill is at 63% capacity <br /> o UNC-Hillsborough is at 91% capacity <br /> ➢ in OC, there are: <br /> 0 195 confirmed lab cases <br /> 0 7 deaths <br /> 0 23 hospitalizations <br /> 0 57 of the positive cases are being monitored; 21 of those cases will soon <br /> come off of isolation/monitoring which will leave 36 actively being monitored <br /> • Governor Cooper shared the 3 T's in which he's looking for before lifting the executive <br /> orders. <br /> o Robust Testing <br /> o Aggressive contact Tracing in the state (OC never relaxed contact tracing.) <br /> o Trend - decrease in deaths, positive cases and hospitalizations <br /> • There isn't an infinite number of tests. The guidance on testing has changed —testing <br /> anyone based on their symptoms. Asymptomatic and those with mild symptoms that are <br /> able to recover at home may not need to be tested. The state is not accepting <br /> asymptomatic cases to test. These cases may be tested thru a private lab. <br /> • OCHD Environmental Health have been quite busy conducting routine checks and have <br /> been talking with retail and grocery stores to ensure they're following executive orders. <br /> • Kristin Prelipp, Communication Manager, sent a press release on yesterday about the <br /> public health strike team created by the OCHD and Orange County Emergency Services <br /> in early April. The team has worked closely with representatives from UNC and Duke <br /> S:\Managers Working Files\BOH\Agenda &Abstracts\2020 Agenda &Abstracts/ <br /> April Page 6 <br />