There remain no confirmed cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in the Tri-Valley, but one Pleasanton student and their family are under self-quarantine at home after a family member may have been exposed to a potential case of the virus, according to public officials.
The Alameda County Public Health Department reiterated that as of 5 p.m. Thursday, no Pleasanton Unified School District student, teacher or staff member had tested positive for the coronavirus, PUSD Superintendent David Haglund told the Weekly.
Earlier in the afternoon, as public concern about COVID-19 spreading around the Bay Area continued to circulate, Alameda County health officials worked to dispel rumors about new cases emerging in the Tri-Valley.
There were no new cases -- confirmed nor presumptive -- at all across Alameda County on Thursday, leaving the number of confirmed cases countywide at two, according to ACPHD.
Still, the situation at Valley View Elementary School on Thursday served as an example of response that can result from even the possibility of potential familial exposure to COVID-19.
The parent of a Valley View student informed PUSD officials on Thursday that a family member may have come into contact with a presumptive, but unconfirmed, case of the coronavirus while they were at work, according to Haglund.
“Out of an abundance of caution, the other students in the classroom were moved to another room for the remainder of the school day to allow for classroom cleaning/disinfecting,” Haglund said. “District staff deployed to the site and have treated the classroom and all shared spaces with a safe disinfectant that is effective with eliminating viruses.”
ACPHD told PUSD that the student and their family would be quarantining themselves at home for the next 14 days, according to Haglund.
“The District continues to consult with the Alameda County Public Health Department and will follow their guidance,” he added. “If further action is directed by Alameda County Public Health Department, we will contact families through email as soon as it becomes available.”
The coronavirus remains at the forefront of many minds in the Tri-Valley, but there have been no confirmed cases reported anywhere in the area to date.
Earlier this week, both ACPHD and the city of Berkeley’s Public Health Division announced two separate cases of county residents with the virus, which causes mild to moderate respiratory illness in most that are infected.
One patient is a NorthBay VacaValley Hospital healthcare worker who had exposure to a community-acquired case at UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento and is currently in isolation at home. The other is a Berkeley resident who returned last month from Italy, one of the countries with a COVID-19 outbreak, and is recovering at home with a “mild illness” from the virus, according to Berkeley public health officials.
A reader contacted the Weekly claiming that Stanford-ValleyCare Hospital in Pleasanton had four patients with COVID-19 and another Fremont hospital had seven patients showing symptoms associated with the virus, but ACPHD public information officer Neetu Balram refuted those claims.
“At this time there are no additional presumptive positive or confirmed cases in Alameda County, other than the one announced on (March 1) and the one Berkeley announced on (March 3),” Balram said. “We don’t have any additional information to share at this time. The situation is changing rapidly and we will update the public when circumstances warrant.”
ValleyCare spokesperson Denise Bouillerce also told the Weekly, “We do not provide information on patients with suspected conditions. Any confirmed cases would be announced by the Alameda County Public Health Department.”
Earlier Thursday, Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency following the first recorded death from COVID-19 in California. The patient was a 71-year-old man with underlying health conditions who contracted the virus on a cruise in Mexico last month, according to multiple news outlets.
Health experts are encouraging the public to minimize their risk of COVID-19 transmission by following these steps:
* Wash hands with liquid soap and water and rub for at least 20 seconds;
* Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when coughing or sneezing;
* Refrain from touching your eyes, nose and mouth;
* Stay home when you are sick; and
* Get a flu shot to protect yourself and others from the flu, which has similar symptoms to COVID19.
People who are healthy do not need to use a facemask to protect themselves from COVID-19. A face mask is recommended for those who are coughing or sneezing to protect others from getting sick.
ACPHD has a webpage dedicated to updates, advice and information about COVID-19 at http://acphd.org/2019-ncov.aspx.
Comments
Amador Valley High School
on Mar 5, 2020 at 9:49 pm
on Mar 5, 2020 at 9:49 pm
Junior Prom at Amador Valley High is scheduled for the end of this month. I wonder if they will still maintain the event in face of recent developments.
Pleasanton Meadows
on Mar 5, 2020 at 10:23 pm
on Mar 5, 2020 at 10:23 pm
This information was rumored seventy-two hours ago.
Alameda County health denied it then, and again today earlier.
Now Alameda county health is admitting it.
How reliable is Alameda county health to keep the public informed?
Stoneridge
on Mar 6, 2020 at 2:22 am
on Mar 6, 2020 at 2:22 am
Hey as of about 10 pm March 5, just minutes after this was updated, it's said that the virus has been confirmed and the school was shut down, but I have no confirmation source and saw this on social media
Downtown
on Mar 6, 2020 at 7:31 am
on Mar 6, 2020 at 7:31 am
“A reader contacted the Weekly claiming that Stanford-ValleyCare Hospital in Pleasanton had four patients with COVID-19 and another Fremont hospital had seven patients showing symptoms associated with the virus, but ACPHD public information officer Neetu Balram refuted those claims.“
Hmmm....I wonder who here that could have been? Perhaps someone who has a long track record for spreading false information and rumors on these forums, including starting a PW discussion topic which made some of the above claims and that was removed by the PW a few hours after it appeared?
Ruby Hill
on Mar 6, 2020 at 9:50 am
on Mar 6, 2020 at 9:50 am
What about the Covid-19 case at LLNL yesterday, March 5, and the 25 families now on voluntary quarantine. Surely LLNL would not have sent a building full of employees home and decontaminate the building for nothing. Let’s be proactive about this, instead of pretending that it’s just flu.
Mohr Elementary School
on Mar 6, 2020 at 10:29 am
on Mar 6, 2020 at 10:29 am
Racial profiling is not only misleading, but also counterproductive. Actually local Chinese families might have a lower chance to carry the virus because of (a) extra precautions and the awareness of severity of COVID-19, (b) travel ban was implemented quite early (c) China literally implemented martial law in the whole country. Direct connections haven been stopped from both sides for a while.
The latest data suggest most community spread cases are linked to travel history of Italy, Iran, Egypt, and healthcare workers. Trying to link community spread to local Chinese families is not helping the situation. It’s not even correct. At the end of the day, a virus doesn’t care about your skin color.
This is not a racial issue. This is a public health issue. Let’s treat it as such.
Valley View Elementary School
on Mar 6, 2020 at 12:22 pm
on Mar 6, 2020 at 12:22 pm
My kids go to Valley View. It hasn't been shut down and as of this morning the quarantined family hadn't been tested, although the exposed parent is sick. The parent went to Valley Care and they didn't have test kits. The parent works at Livermore Laboratory.
Mohr Elementary School
on Mar 6, 2020 at 3:33 pm
on Mar 6, 2020 at 3:33 pm
My comment seems odd but it’s a response to some earlier comments that try to blame local Chinese communities for this. It looks like forum moderators have cleaned the house.
Pleasanton Meadows
on Mar 10, 2020 at 9:12 pm
on Mar 10, 2020 at 9:12 pm
As far as the LLNL, I can't remember where I saw they tested negative. The fact we don't have confirmation on this is disturbing. But on another note...
Why is the California Department of Public Health waiting for actual cases to happen in school before Closure? Web Link
It looks as though are district is sitting on its hands waiting and taking what seems like idiotic advise. Every time I've talked to the people in the front office of my child's school, they tell me "we know what you know". No offence, but I doubt it, because if they really understood how transmissible this is, how easily this spreads, they wouldn't want people even walking in the office. This isn't a slight to the staff, they are nice, but sadly not informed and waiting to take orders. If we look at Italy, China, Iran, South Korea, the natural progression of this disease ends up in massive quarantines and shutdowns because regions fail miserably at containing, hospitals become overwhelmed with sick patients of all kinds not just Covid19, and the only way to stop it is to shut it all down. Watch how quickly our cases are rising. We will be there in a couple weeks, and possibly infect many more people by not closing schools now. I'm aware I can pull my kid and I tried that, but if I'm one of only a few parents doing this, my child will be penalized with the workload not being modified for a disaster scenario. In other words, my child will miss important things in class (tests, projects, etc.) that are expected because I am opting to pull my kid, rather than the whole curriculum being modified for a disaster scenario. They system isn't going to change for one or two kids, and this forces my child back in class, hence no loss of money for the school. I hope I don't regret putting my children back in school today, I hope by some miracle this will subside, but I doubt it. It is barely slowing down at the original epicenter and that was with a uniform government shutdown in a communist regime.
So is the district just going to sit back and wait for an outbreak? Is it just going to boil down to who will be the unlucky ones that will get it first, then shut it down, then force others into self-isolating because of possible exposure, overwhelm our hospitals with more cases? Why are we waiting for this?
Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Mar 13, 2020 at 10:18 am
on Mar 13, 2020 at 10:18 am
A few months ago "the Pleasanton Unified School District Board of Trustees has agreed to cover professional cleaning services used to sanitize five PUSD sites during a stomach virus outbreak last fall by pulling $233,948 from the district general fund." This is for an outbreak of a far less dangerous virus. This was a lot of money and the district should be applauded for this action. However, as an employee of the district, I have yet to see anything more than communication of what should be done and the distribution of the district's 3-level phased escalation chart being shared.
I have yet to see what I would consider substantial and necessary sanitation happening at the school where I work. In fact, I am still encountering co-workers who have stated that they are not concerned with getting the virus. While I respect everyone's individual decisions, in the workplace (and with children in mind) we should suspend our personal doubts and lackadaisical views and replace it with a heightened call to action for the benefit of public safety.
If we all take individual responsibility for minimizing both the spread and exposure to the virus then we can get through this with minimal impact....but it will require committment for everyone.