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San Francisco health officials describe early coronavirus screening, urge calm
Summary
San Francisco Health Department leaders told the Health Commission the department was closely monitoring a novel coronavirus outbreak, coordinating airport screening at SFO with CDC, and updating clinical and community guidance to limit transmission and avoid discrimination.
San Franciscos health leadership told the Health Commission on Jan. 21 that the city was closely monitoring a novel coronavirus outbreak and coordinating with federal and regional partners to limit spread.
Grant Colfax, Director of Health, said the department was "monitoring the new coronavirus outbreak very carefully" and noted that the CDC had started screening passengers arriving at San Francisco International Airport from Wuhan, China. Colfax said the department had initiated surveillance and communications preparations while seeking to align messages with Bay Area partners.
Dr. Tomas Aragon, the citys health officer, gave a more detailed briefing: WHO first reported the outbreak Dec. 31; the CDC had activated its incident management structure; and the agency had issued a Level 2 travel notice and was running entry screening at several U.S. airports. Aragon said laboratory testing at that time was available only through CDC but state and local capacity were being prepared. He described ongoing work to update guidance for clinicians, review laboratory procedures, provide home-care guidance for mildly ill people, and develop targeted communications to affected communities to reduce fear and discrimination.
Aragon said case counts were changing rapidly and cited several estimates presented to the Commission, noting both CDCs case counts and independent modeling produced different ranges. The department emphasized surveillance, infection-control guidance for health-care workers, and regional coordination of public messages.
The presentation closed with a request for patience as more data emerge and an offer to return to the Commission with updates if the situation changed.
The Commission did not take formal action on the report; staff said they would follow up with any requested data and continued to coordinate with state and federal partners.
