Fresno County boosts COVID-19 testing, medical supplies and contact tracers
Fresno County recently secured thousands of COVID-19 test kits and swabs, along with refurbished N95 masks and face shields, health officials said Monday.
The boost in test supplies helps Fresno move closer to meeting California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s criteria for counties to move to the next step of reopening their economy as the coronavirus pandemic marches on. Newsom eased up on some guidelines Monday.
Currently, Fresno County has the capacity to conduct about 1,000 tests per day, said Public Health Director Dave Pomaville during a Zoom media briefing Monday morning.
Dr. Rais Vohra, the county’s interim health officer, said medical providers who have struggled to access swabs and swab kits should contact the county health department.
In addition to tests, a local Rotary Club refurbished thousands of expired N95 masks. While they can no longer be used for medical practices, Vohra said they’re still great for residents who must be in public and will help the county “flatten the curve” by limiting coronavirus transmission.
“They’re excellent masks just for general use for when people are out and about, just for general activities,” Vohra said.
County officials plan to send some of the masks to shelters, clinics and others serving vulnerable populations. Vohra anticipated having many left over.
The health department also has face shields made by the Ford Motor Company that are ready for distribution.
“They are very handy for protecting our workers, whether they’re serving the public in a general setting, or even in a medical setting,” Vohra said. “Face shields are actually quite useful just for a general use.”
Contact tracing
The county also has beefed up its team of contact tracers by training staff in other county departments such as the public defender’s office, environmental health and even the library, Pomaville said.
Contact tracers, according to the Centers for Disease Control, help build timelines of people a patient came in contact with while they were infectious.
The county also contracted with American Ambulance to train paramedics as contact tracers. The county also is looking to contract with local clinics and school nursing programs.
The training brings the county’s team up to 80 people.
Contract tracing is another area in which Newsom set requirements for counties before they move forward with reopening.
The county is working on a model that will allow the contact tracing work force to return to their normal jobs while including flexibility to pull them back if cases surge.
“Our goal is to have people who know and understand the communities that they’re working in,” Pomaville said. “We think that they’ll do a better job of contract tracing.”