ALL RIGHT, I THINK EVERYBODY IS READY. 
          [00:00:03]
WELCOME AND GOOD MORNING, ELECTION DAY TO THE NOVEMBER 3RD, 2020 MERCED COUNTY BOARD 
          [Call to Order]
MEETING. IN ORDER TO MINIMIZE THE SPREAD OF THE COVID-19 VIRUS, THE COUNTY IS CONDUCTING BUSINESS IN COMPLIANCE WITH SOCIAL DISTANCING REQUIREMENTS WITH SEATING FOR THE PUBLIC LIMITED TO TWENTY FIVE. 
          WE HAVE ALSO PROVIDED SOME MORE [INAUDIBLE] ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVED BASIS. 
          FOR MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WHO DO NOT WISH TO ATTEND IN PERSON. 
          WE HAVE BEEN ACCEPTING GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENTS VIA EMAIL AND VOICE MAIL FOR NON AGENDA AND AGENDA ITEMS. WE WILL NOW START WITH INVOCATION PROVIDED BY SUPERVISOR LLOYD PAREIRA AND THEN THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE WITH LEAD BY SUPERVISOR LOR, WOULD YOU LIKE TO DO IT? THANK YOU. PLEASE, STAND. 
          IF YOU WOULD, BOW YOUR HEADS WITH ME, PLEASE. 
          HEAVENLY FATHER, I ASK THAT YOU COME INTO THIS ROOM, LORD, AND THAT YOU GIVE US WISDOM AND GUIDANCE THAT WE MIGHT MAKE DECISIONS THAT ARE ONE IN YOUR WILL AND TWO WHAT'S BEST FOR THE CITIZENS OF MERCED COUNTY. 
          AND I ALSO ASK LORD THAT YOU BLESS OUR COUNTY AND OUR STATE AND OUR COUNTRY, LORD, WE'RE AT A TIME OF GREAT DIVISION. 
          AND I JUST PRAY THAT YOU WOULD LOVE US SO MUCH AS YOU DO, THAT YOU WOULD TAKE THE EFFORT TO HEAL OUR HEARTS. 
          AND IF WE DO DISAGREE THAT WE CAN GET ALONG AND PROTECT THOSE FROM CIVIL UNREST, IF THAT HAPPENS TONIGHT OR TOMORROW. 
          IN JESUS NAME, WE PRAY. 
          AMEN. 
          THANK YOU SUPERVISOR LLOYD PAREIRA AND SUPERVISOR LOR. 
          WE HAD A CLOSED SESSION THIS MORNING AND A DIRECTION WAS GIVEN, GO AHEAD. 
          IT'S NOW, IT'S NOW TIME FOR A PUBLIC OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK ON ANY MATTER OF PUBLIC'S 
          [PUBLIC OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK]
INTEREST WITHIN THE BOARD'S JURISDICTION, INCLUDING ITEMS ON THE BOARD'S AGENDA, EXCEPT FOR THOSE ITEMS SPECIFICALLY SCHEDULED AS PUBLIC HEARINGS. 
          TESTIMONY LIMITED TO THREE MINUTES PER PERSON. 
          THANK YOU. IF ANYBODY HERE, THAT WOULD LIKE TO COME AND SPEAK, PLEASE COME FORWARD. 
          PUBLIC COMMENT. OK, NO ONE HERE, SO WE'LL GO ON TO VOICEMAILS. 
          HELLO, THIS IS A GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT, NOT FOR ANY SPECIFIC ITEM FOR THE MEETING ON NOVEMBER THE 3RD, 2020. 
          BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, COUNTY STAFF AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS, THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. 
          AND MY NAME IS STEVE [INAUDIBLE], I'M A PUBLIC HEALTH RESEARCHER BASED ON IN MERCED SINCE 2001 AND I'M A PARENT OF CHILDREN IN OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 
          PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU'D LIKE SPECIFIC REFERENCES TO FACT CHECKING INFORMATION THAT I SHARE. LITTLE PRIVACY LAWS ALLOW SCHOOLS TO DISCLOSE INFORMATION ABOUT CASES OF COVID-19 TO THE PUBLIC WITHOUT WRITTEN CONSENT OF THE INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE POSITIVE AS LONG AS THE INFORMATION DOES NOT PERSONALLY IDENTIFY INDIVIDUALS. 
          FOR EXAMPLE, A SCHOOL COULD DISCLOSE ITS TOTAL NUMBER OF CURRENT AND NEW COVID-19 CASES DAILY OR WEEKLY, ON ITS WEBSITE. 
          HOWEVER, AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL, THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL PREVENTION AND THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION HAVE NO PROGRAMS IN PLACE TO TRACK COVID CASES IN SCHOOLS OR COLLEGES. THEY DEPEND ON INFORMATION TO BE REPORTED TO THEM ON THE LOCAL LEVEL. 
          SOME SCHOOLS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY ARE PUBLICLY DISCLOSING THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS AND STAFF WHO HAVE COVID-19. 
          THIS INFORMATION HELPS STAFF AND PARENTS TO CHOOSE HOW TO PROTECT THEMSELVES. 
          UNFORTUNATELY, ACROSS THE COUNTRY, MANY SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL DISTRICTS ARE DELIBERATELY HIDING LOCATIONS OF COVID-19 OUTBREAKS FROM THE PUBLIC. 
          THERE IS AN ASSUMPTION THAT HIDING THIS INFORMATION WILL PREVENT THE PUBLIC FROM AVOIDING FACE TO FACE INSTRUCTION. 
          KEEPING OUR SCHOOLS OPEN FOR AS MANY CHILDREN AS POSSIBLE IS VITAL FOR THE SUCCESS OF OUR CHILDREN AND THE SUCCESS OF OUR COUNTY. 
          HIDING INFORMATION FOR OUR PUBLIC WILL ENDANGER PUBLIC TRUST IN OUR SCHOOL AND ELECTED LEADERS. THE LIST OF STATES NOT REPORTING OUTBREAKS IN SCHOOLS INCLUDES CALIFORNIA. 
          DURING LOCAL SCHOOL AND SCHOOL BOARD MEETINGS IN MERCED, SCHOOL STAFF HAVE REPORTED THAT COVID CASES HAVE OCCURRED IN SCHOOLS SINCE MARCH. 
          NO ORGANIZED PUBLIC SHARING OF COVID CASES EXISTS DESPITE PARENTS AND TEACHERS ASKING FOR THIS. IF THIS INFORMATION EXISTS, IT IS NOT OBVIOUS WHERE THE PUBLIC CAN FIND IT ON SCHOOL SITES AND ON OUR COUNTY'S COVID WEBSITE. 
          I ASK YOU, AS A COUNTY'S TOP ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES, I ASK OUR SCHOOL AND PUBLIC HEALTH LEADERS. I ASK MYSELF AND OTHER TRUSTED COMMUNITY LEADERS, HOW CAN WE HELP OUR MERCED COUNTY SCHOOLS TO ENSURE PUBLIC TRUST BY DISCLOSING COVID CASES TO THE PUBLIC IN A FAST 
          [00:05:05]
AND APPROPRIATE MANNER. 
          THERE IS GREAT PRESSURE FOR SCHOOLS TO SHOW FAMILIES AND BUSINESSES THAT ALL IS FINE, THAT THERE IS NO NEED TO PANIC AND THAT THEY DO NOT NEED EXTRA HELP. 
          RESPONDING TO THESE CONCERNS DEMANDS A COORDINATED AND COLLECTIVE ACTION BEYOND OUR SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL SYSTEM. 
          WE MUST PROACTIVELY FIND WAYS TO HELP OUR SCHOOLS MAINTAIN AND GROW THE PUBLIC'S TRUST. 
          OUR COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, OUR COUNTY AGENCIES FROM PUBLIC HEALTH, HUMAN SERVICES TO WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, AS WELL AS CITY AND NEIGHBORHOOD LEADERS MUST WORK TOGETHER WITH OUR SCHOOLS. 
          WORKING ACROSS LINES OF AUTHORITY IS HOW WE WILL KEEP OUR SCHOOLS OPEN AND SAFE AND AS A RESULT, KEEP OUR COMMUNITY STRONG DURING THE PANDEMIC. 
          PLEASE DELIBERATE AND ACT ON THIS CONCERN SOON. 
          THANK YOU. 
          HELLO, MY NAME IS JOVANA MORALES WITH LEADERSHIP COUNCIL. 
          I AM CALLING TO LEAVE PUBLIC COMMENT ON ITEM THREE, THE ATWATER MERCED EXPRESSWAY PROJECT. BEFORE YOU VOTE ON THIS PROJECT, I WANT TO EMPHASIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF INVESTING IN THOSE INFRASTRUCTURE IN DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES LIKE [INAUDIBLE]. 
          RESIDENTS HAVE CONTINUOUSLY ADVOCATED FOR BETTER ROAD CONDITIONS, STREETLIGHTS, STOP SIGNS, STOP LIGHTS, CROSSWALK SAFETY LIGHTS AND PROPER DRAINAGE. 
          THESE ARE RESIDENTS DAILY CONCERNS THAT AFFECT THE SAFETY AND QUALITY OF THEIR COMMUNITIES, THEY HAVE BEEN HISTORICALLY DISINVESTED IN, AND WE URGED THE COUNTY TO ALLOCATE MORE FUNDING TO ROAD REHABILITATION IN THESE UNINCORPORATED AREAS AND PRIORITIZE RESIDENT [INAUDIBLE] PROJECTS. 
          THANK YOU. 
          MY NAME IS SHENG XIONG WITH THE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL FOR JUSTICE AND ACCOUNTABILITY. 
          I'D LIKE TO COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEM 21. 
          HAVING WORK WITH RESIDENTS IN THE BEACHWOOD, FRANKLIN AREA FOR MANY YEARS. 
          WE ARE GLAD TO SEE THAT THE COUNTY IS APPLYING FOR A GRANT AND THAT LAND HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AND PURCHASED FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW PARK. 
          THIS HAS BEEN THE TOP PRIORITY FOR RESIDENTS FOR A LONG TIME, AND THEY WILL SURELY ENJOY THE USE OF THIS MUCH NEEDED PARK AND COMMUNITY CENTER IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD, ESPECIALLY DURING GOOD WEATHER. WE BELIEVE THAT EARLY OUTREACH AND NOTIFICATION TO RESIDENTS WILL HELP THEM ENGAGE MORE MEANINGFULLY AND INCLUDE MORE PEOPLE IN THE INVESTMENT OF THEIR COMMUNITIES, ESPECIALLY AS A LOT OF PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT HAS STOPPED SINCE THE START OF THE COVID PANDEMIC. NEVERTHELESS, WE LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING WORKING WITH COUNTY STAFF TO HELP SEE THIS PROCESS THROUGH AND HOPE THAT THE GRANT WILL BE AWARDED TO THE BEACHWOOD, FRANKLIN COMMUNITY. THANK YOU. THAT CONCLUDES THE VOICEMAILS. 
          ALRIGHT. THANK YOU, THAT'S ALL VOICEMAILS. 
          SO ANY FURTHER COMMENTS HERE FROM THE PUBLIC? NONE, IF NOT WE'LL CLOSE THE PUBLIC COMMENT AND WE'LL MOVE ON. 
          [MERCED COUNTY OFFICE OF EDUCATION ANNUAL WILLIAMS REPORT
FOR 2020/2021]
NEXT IS MERCED COUNTY OFFICE OF EDUCATION ANNUAL WILLIAMS REPORT FOR 2020, 2021. 
          GOOD MORNING, CHAIRPERSON AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, IT'S GOOD TO BE WITH YOU THIS MORNING ON ELECTION DAY. 
          LOTS OF EXCITEMENT IN THE AIR, ISN'T THERE? SO I'M HERE TODAY TO PROVIDE OUR ANNUAL WILLIAMS REPORT ON SCHOOLS. 
          THE WILLIAMS REPORT IS REQUIRED BY STATE LAW AS WELL AS A SETTLED COURT CASE BY GOVERNOR SCHWARZENEGGER THAT REQUIRES THAT THE COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT IN EVERY COUNTY REVIEW AT LEAST 25 PERCENT OF THEIR SCHOOLS FOR CREDENTIAL, PROPER ASSIGNMENTS OF TEACHERS, FOR TEXTBOOKS EFFICIENCY AND FOR CARE OF THE FACILITY. 
          THIS YEAR, THE LAW WAS AMENDED BY SB 820 BECAUSE OF THE COVID EMERGENCY. 
          AND SO THE ONLY IN-PERSON VISITS WE DID TO SCHOOL SITES THIS YEAR WAS AROUND THE FACILITY ISSUE. THE OTHER ISSUES WERE SELF REPORTED OR DONE ELECTRONICALLY AS WE REVIEWED CREDENTIALS IN OUR OFFICE. 
          I'M HAPPY TO REPORT THAT WE HAD A VERY, VERY CLEAN YEAR THIS YEAR, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF ONE LETTER THAT I FOUND IN THE FILE. 
          AND SO I'D LIKE TO SHARE THAT LETTER WITH YOU NOW. 
          IT'S WRITTEN TO ONE OF OUR PRINCIPALS BY ONE OF THE FORMER SUPERINTENDENTS OF OUR COUNTY. 
          NO DOUBT MR. MASSENGILL TOLD YOU ABOUT MY REQUEST FOR REPAIRS AT CUNNINGHAM SCHOOL. 
          THE LITTLE PEOPLE THERE WERE THERE. 
          SO I DID NOT MAKE MY STATEMENT AS STRONG AS I SHOULD OTHERWISE HAVE DONE. 
          I'M SURE THAT YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE OUTBUILDINGS OR OF LATE OR YOU WOULD HAVE TAKEN 
          [00:10:02]
ACTION FOR THE CRYING NEED OF REPAIRS TO PROTECT THE HEALTH OF THE CHILDREN. 
          THE BOY'S TOILET CANNOT BE USED, HAS IN FACT BEEN OVERTURNED AND THE GIRL'S TOILET IS ALSO IN NEED OF REPAIRS. 
          TWO NEW VAULTS SHOULD BE DUG AND THE BUILDINGS REPAIRED. 
          OR IF YOU THINK NEW ONES BUILT IN THEIR PLACE, A LATTICE ACROSS THE FRONT AND ALONG THE SIDE GIVES AND ADDED PRIVACY AND ALSO A VERY NEAT APPEARANCE TO THE BUILDINGS. 
          THE SOONER THIS IS DONE, THE BETTER FOR THE WELFARE OF THE CHILDREN, AND THE LAW REQUIRES AT LEAST TWO TOILETS. DECEMBER 10TH, 1917. 
          THAT WAS WRITTEN BY MARGARET [INAUDIBLE]. 
          SO WILLIAMS VISITS ARE NOT NEW. 
          THAT WAS SHARED WITH ME JUST THIS LAST MONTH AND I THOUGHT, I SHARE IT WITH YOU IN A MOMENT OF LEVITY TO RELIEVE SOME OF THE STRESS WE'RE ALL LIVING THROUGH. 
          BUT WE HAD GREAT A GREAT REVIEW OF OUR SCHOOLS. 
          THEY ALL HAD AT LEAST A 90 PERCENT OR BETTER ON THEIR FACILITIES REVIEW. 
          AND SO I'M HAPPY TO REPORT OUR SCHOOLS ARE IN GOOD SHAPE AND WE'RE WORKING HARD TOGETHER WITH YOUR STAFF TO TRY TO BRING KIDS BACK IN A SAFE AND HEALTHY WAY AS SOON AS WE CAN. 
          INTERESTING TO BE HERE TO HEAR THE COMMENTS THIS MORNING FROM THE CALL IN. 
          AND WE'RE HAPPY, HAPPY TO WORK WITH YOUR PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICERS TO MAKE SURE THAT PARENTS AND OUR STAFF KNOW ACROSS THE COUNTY THE CONDITIONS OF OUR SCHOOLS. 
          IN FACT, THE TOPIC OF THE CALL WAS THE TOPIC OF A PHONE CONVERSATION LAST WEEK WITH ALL 20 SUPERINTENDENTS AND THE PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICER. 
          SO KNOW THAT THESE ARE ISSUES THAT WE'RE ON, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE PROVIDE THE BEST INFORMATION WE CAN TO THE PUBLIC HERE IN MERCED COUNTY. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR WORK AND YOUR SUPPORT AND LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU AGAIN SOON. HOPEFULLY THAT WAS A LITTLE LEVITY. 
          I DON'T KNOW IF YOU SAW THAT COMING, DIGGING THE VAULTS. 
          IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE CLUE. OK, WE APPRECIATE IT VERY MUCH, SIR. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. NEXT IS A COVID-19 UPDATE. 
          [COVID-19 UPDATE]
GOOD MORNING. 
          MORNING, GOOD MORNING, BOARD AND CO AND PUBLIC. 
          I'M GOING TO GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED. 
          BECKY WILL BE HERE VERY SHORTLY. 
          BUT MOST OF THIS PRESENTATION IS AN UPDATE ON OUR STATISTICS. 
          OK, SO I'LL START WITH THE NUMBERS THAT WE GIVE EVERY PRESENTATION WITH A COMPARISON OF HOW WE WERE DOING THE LAST TIME WE WERE HERE ABOUT ONE MONTH AGO, AND THEN HOW WE ARE DOING TODAY. SO OCTOBER 5TH, WE HAD NINE THOUSAND AND EIGHTY ONE LABORATORY CONFIRMED CASES. AS OF YESTERDAY, WE HAVE 9,779, WHICH IS ONLY AN EIGHT PERCENT CHANGE. 
          YOU'LL NOTICE THAT THAT'S A DRAMATIC SLOWING FROM SOME OF THE REPORTS THAT I'VE GIVEN PREVIOUSLY, WHICH IS REALLY GOOD NEWS. 
          OCTOBER WAS A PRETTY GOOD MONTH FOR US OVERALL WITH THE CAVEAT THAT THIS LAST WEEK, AND I'LL EXPLAIN THIS IN A LITTLE BIT, HAS SEEN A PRETTY DRAMATIC INCREASE IN OUR CASES. 
          SO BUT OVERALL, THE MONTH OF OCTOBER WAS WELL WENT WELL IN TERMS OF MAINTAINING OUR CASES AT A VERY MANAGEABLE RATE. 
          SO PROBABLE ACTIVE. 
          THE NUMBER OF CASES THAT WE HAVE BEEN REPORTED TO US IN THE LAST 14 DAYS, OCTOBER 5TH, WAS 299 AND AS OF YESTERDAY WAS 404. 
          SO YOU'LL SEE THAT THAT HAS INCREASED. 
          THAT'S A THIRTY FIVE PERCENT INCREASE FROM WHEN WE WERE HERE LAST AND 300 AND REALLY IMPORTANTLY, 301 OF THOSE CASES HAVE BEEN IN THE LAST EIGHT DAYS. 
          SO IN THE LAST, YOU KNOW, JUST OVER A WEEK WE'VE REALLY SEEN A DRAMATIC UPTICK IN OUR CASES. WE'VE BEEN MAINTAINING RIGHT AROUND 20 CASES PER DAY FOR ABOUT SIX WEEKS NOW, BUT NOW WE'RE ALMOST DOUBLE THAT AT AROUND 40 CASES A DAY. 
          SO IT'S AN ALARMING TREND. 
          WE STILL HAVE THIS THAT WILL HAVE IMPLICATIONS FOR OUR BLUEPRINT HERE. 
          AND I'LL TALK ABOUT THAT A LITTLE BIT LATER. 
          BUT WE DO STILL HAVE TIME TO TURN THIS AROUND AND GET THESE CASES BACK UNDER CONTROL SO THAT WE SO THAT OUR BLUEPRINT HERE IS NOT AFFECTED. 
          ON OCTOBER 5TH, WE HAD 148 DEATHS. 
          WE NOW HAVE 158 DEATHS. 
          IT'S ONLY A SEVEN PERCENT INCREASE. 
          AGAIN, THIS IS SLOWED SIGNIFICANTLY, WHICH IS REALLY WONDERFUL NEWS. 
          [00:15:01]
AGAIN, THOUGH, JUST AS A REMINDER, FATALITIES TEND TO BE A LAGGING INDICATOR. 
          SO WE'LL SEE INCREASES IN CASES AND THEN INCREASES IN HOSPITALIZATIONS AND THEN INCREASES IN FATALITIES. 
          SO THERE'S A BIT OF A CAVEAT ON THAT. 
          BUT STILL REALLY HAPPY TO SEE THAT OUR FATALITY INCREASES HAVE DRAMATICALLY DECREASED FROM SOME PREVIOUS PRESENTATIONS THAT WE'VE GIVEN. 
          THE NUMBER OF ACTIVE HOSPITALIZATIONS IN ANY COUNTY ON OCTOBER 5TH WERE 34. 
          THEY ARE NOW DOWN TO 28. 
          THAT'S A 17 PERCENT DECREASE, WHICH AGAIN, IS THE NUMBER MOVING IN THE DIRECTION THAT WE LIKE TO SEE IT. AND HOPEFULLY WE'LL BE ABLE TO AVOID ANOTHER SPIKE IN HOSPITALIZATIONS AS OUR CASES ARE INCREASING. 
          EVER HOSPITALIZED IN ANY COUNTY WAS 660 WHEN WE WERE HERE IN OCTOBER 5TH AND IS NOW 701. 
          AGAIN, A VERY SMALL INCREASE, SIX PERCENT INCREASE THERE. 
          SO NUMBERS THAT WE LIKE TO SEE. 
          THE TOTAL NUMBER OF TESTS CONDUCTED ON OCTOBER 5TH WERE 56,356. 
          AS OF YESTERDAY WE HAD 65,019, WHICH IS A 15 PERCENT INCREASE. 
          SO JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAILS ON THE FATALITIES THAT WE'VE HAD SINCE WE'VE BEEN HERE. 
          AS WE'VE MENTIONED, THERE'S ONLY BEEN 10 FATALITIES IN THE LAST MONTH, WHICH IS THE SMALLEST NUMBER WE'VE SEEN IN QUITE SOME TIME, WHICH IS REALLY GREAT. 
          IT'S BEEN ABOUT WE WENT FROM 89 FATALITIES IN MALES TO 96 FATALITIES IN MALES AN EIGHT PERCENT INCREASE. 
          FROM FEMALES FROM 59 TO 62, WHICH IS A FIVE PERCENT INCREASE, ONLY THREE ADDITIONAL FATALITIES IN FEMALES. 
          AND THERE ARE SIX ADDITIONAL FATALITIES AND PEOPLE OVER THE AGE OF 65, WHICH IS AN EIGHT PERCENT INCREASE, AND THEN FOUR ADDITIONAL FATALITIES IN PEOPLE UNDER THE AGE OF 65. 
          64 AND UNDER WHICH IS AN EIGHT PERCENT INCREASE IN THOSE FATALITIES. 
          WE ARE SEEING A PRETTY EVEN SPLIT NOW BETWEEN PEOPLE DYING WITHIN OUR COUNTY, EITHER AT A HOSPITAL WITHIN OUR COUNTY OR AT HOME OR ALSO AT OUR NURSING HOMES WITHIN THE COUNTY. 
          THAT'S SEEN AN INCREASE OF SIX FATALITIES, FOUR SEVEN PERCENT INCREASE. 
          AND THEN OUTSIDE OF MERCED COUNTY, WHICH ARE IN TYPICALLY EXTERNAL HOSPITALS, HAS FOUR ADDITIONAL FATALITIES OF THAT, WHICH IS A SIX PERCENT INCREASE AS WELL. 
          SO HOLDING FAIRLY STEADY ON OUR FATALITIES HERE, NOTHING REALLY JUMPING OUT ON THOSE. 
          SO SUPERVISOR PAREIRA HAD REQUESTED THAT WE LOOK AT OUR CASES PER THOUSAND RESIDENTS AT A BIT MORE OF A MORE TIGHT TIME FRAME, SOME MORE RECENT. 
          SO THESE ARE THE CASES PER THOUSAND RESIDENTS SINCE OCTOBER 1ST. 
          IMPORTANT HERE TO HIGHLIGHT IS AS WE'VE HAD THESE INCREASE IN CASES IN THE LAST WEEK, WE'RE SEEING A HIGHER THAN EXPECTED. 
          THEY HAVE MORE CASES THAN WE WOULD EXPECT BASED ON OUR POPULATION IN THE PLANADA, LE GRAND AREA. SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE ARE CONCERNED ABOUT AND LOOKING AT THERE, THAT'S THAT FIRST LINE, THAT KIND OF GOLDEN COLOR ON THAT FIRST HIGHEST LINE. 
          THE SECOND LINE THERE IN THE ORANGE IS DELHI. 
          DELHI HAS CONSISTENTLY BEEN A BIT HIGHER IN CASES PER THOUSAND RESIDENTS FOR A WHILE NOW. 
          IT'S BEEN A LITTLE BIT ON THE HIGHER END PRETTY CONSISTENTLY. 
          BUT WE HAVE SEEN, YOU KNOW, WE DID START TO SEE A MORE DRAMATIC INCREASE MID OCTOBER THERE. AND THEN THEY'VE LEVELED OUT A BIT, BUT ALSO SOMETHING TO LOOK AT. 
          AND THEN THE REST HERE ARE KIND OF BUNCHED TOGETHER. 
          THE REST OF OUR COMMUNITIES ARE FAIRLY BUNCHED TOGETHER. 
          SO REALLY, IT'S THE PLANADA, LE GRAND AREA AND THEN THE DELHI AREA THAT ARE RAISING THE MOST CONCERNS TO US. 
          THE OTHER CASES THAT WE'VE SEEN WITH THE LARGE AMOUNT OF CASES THAT WE'VE SEEN IN THE LAST EIGHT DAYS, THE 300 CASES HAVE BEEN SPREAD OUT BETWEEN ALL OF OUR OTHER COMMUNITIES AND OUR LARGER COMMUNITIES. 
          OK, SO I'LL PAUSE THERE FOR QUESTIONS, BECAUSE I'M GOING TO MOVE ON TO THE BLUEPRINT, SO THAT'S A STATISTICAL. 
          THERE YOU GO. 
          SORRY MY MIC WAS, MY SCREEN WAS OFF, BUT I WAS TRYING TO SEE IF ANY SUPERVISORS HAD ANY QUESTIONS. NO, I DON'T SEE ANY. 
          SO THANK YOU. SO I'LL MOVE ON TO THE CALIFORNIA BLUEPRINT FOR A SAFER COMMUNITY. 
          WE HAVE GOTTEN A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT THE BLUEPRINT. 
          I'M SURE YOU ALL HAVE AS WELL. 
          IT'S VERY CONFUSING. 
          KIND OF IRONICALLY, IT WAS INTENDED TO BE EASIER TO UNDERSTAND. 
          [00:20:02]
IN OUR EXPERIENCE, THAT'S NOT BEEN THE CASE. 
          BUT I DO WANT TO JUST TAKE SOME TIME HERE TO REALLY KIND OF DIG INTO THE BLUEPRINT AND HOPEFULLY ANSWER SOME OF THE COMMUNITY'S QUESTIONS AROUND THIS SET OF METRICS HERE. 
          SO JUST AS A REMINDER, WE'VE BEEN ON THERE'S BEEN SOMETHING THAT THE STATE HAS BEEN TRACKING US ON PRETTY MUCH SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THIS THING. 
          WE STARTED BACK IN MAY WITH A COUNTY ATTESTATION, IF YOU'LL RECALL, THERE WAS A BOARD LETTER FOR THAT. AND WE ATTESTED TO A VARIETY OF THINGS, INCLUDING DIFFERENT METRICS. 
          AND WE ARE STILL BEING MONITORED A LITTLE BIT ON THE STAFFING LEVELS AND THE TESTING, TESTING AVAILABILITY THAT WE HAD TESTED TO BACK IN MAY. 
          WE GET ASKED THAT BY THE STATE EVERY MONTH. 
          BUT OTHER THAN THAT, THE ATTESTATION IS PRETTY MUCH OFF THE TABLE AT THIS POINT. 
          THEN WE MOVED INTO A COUNTY MONITORING LIST THAT WAS REALLY TIED TO THE ATTESTATION TO WHERE IF WE STARTED TO SEE AN INCREASE IN OUR TEST POSITIVITY OR OUR CASES PER HUNDRED THOUSAND, WE WERE PUT ON WHAT WAS CALLED A MONITORING LIST. 
          WE CALL IT THE WATCH LIST. 
          IT WAS KIND OF KNOWN AS THE WATCH LIST. 
          AND THEN THAT WAS WHEN WE HAD TO CLOSE THINGS DOWN IN THE SUMMER. 
          SO, AGAIN, THE MIGRATION FROM THE WATCH LIST MODEL TO THE BLUEPRINT MODEL WAS DONE IN THE WITH THE INTENTION OF BEING EASIER TO UNDERSTAND. 
          AND SO THAT'S WHERE WE ARE NOW WITH THE BLUEPRINT. 
          THIS IS THE BLUEPRINT. 
          THIS WE'VE SHOWN THIS SLIDE A COUPLE OF TIMES. 
          BUT AGAIN, IT DOES SEEM TO BE CONFUSING. 
          SO WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE IT AT EVERY PRESENTATION. 
          WE HAD BEEN AT PURPLE, THE PURPLE TIER, WHICH IS THE WIDE SPREADS HERE FOR QUITE SOME TIME. WE MOVED INTO THE RED TIER ON OCTOBER 5TH, ACTUALLY THE DATE OF OUR LAST BOARD MEETING, WHICH WAS REALLY GREAT. 
          YOU HAVE TO BE WITH YOU HAVE TO BE MEETING THE METRICS FOR A TIER FOR THE LESS RESTRICTIVE TIER FOR TWO WEEKS BEFORE YOU CAN MOVE INTO THAT TIER. 
          SO WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT OUR LOCAL DATA HAD TO BE SHOWING THE NUMBERS THERE IN THE RED SUBSTANTIAL TIER. 
          SO BETWEEN FOUR TO SEVEN CASES PER HUNDRED THOUSAND PER DAY AND BETWEEN FIVE AND EIGHT PERCENT POSITIVITY RATE FOR TWO WEEKS BEFORE WE WERE ACTUALLY ALLOWED TO GO INTO RED AND THEN REOPEN THE BUSINESSES THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH RED. 
          THE SAME THING WILL BE TRUE FOR ORANGE. 
          WE'RE QUITE SOME WAY FROM ORANGE, SO I DON'T ANTICIPATE THAT HAPPENING REALLY ANY TIME SOON. BUT SO THAT THAT'S THE BASIC STEPS FOR THAT. 
          THE SAME THING HAPPENS IN REVERSE. 
          SO WE HAD A SCARE A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO WHERE OUR DATA PUT US BACK INTO THE PURPLE TIER. 
          BUT THAT WAS ONE WEEK OF THAT HAPPENING. 
          THEN THE NEXT WEEK, WE WERE BACK IN THE RED. 
          SO WE HAVE TO HAVE DATA IN THE PURPLE FOR TWO WEEKS BEFORE WE WOULD BE FORCED TO MOVE BACK INTO THE PURPLE AS WELL. 
          SO, AGAIN, IT'S A CONFUSING MODEL, BUT THE IDEA IS THAT US REOPENING HAPPENS SLOWLY AND IN A CONTROLLED FASHION AND YOU HAVE TO DEMONSTRATE STABILITY BEFORE YOU EITHER CAN REOPEN OR BEFORE YOU HAVE TO MOVE BACK. 
          I HAVE A QUESTION FROM SUPERVISOR SILVEIRA. 
          THANK YOU, CHAIR. DOCTOR SULLIVAN, WHEN YOU SAY TWO WEEKS, THAT EITHER WAY, WHETHER YOU'RE GOING UP OR DOWN, IS THAT TWO CONSECUTIVE WEEKS OR SO? IF WE HAD A SCARE FOR A WEEK LAST WEEK AND THEN WE WERE GOOD FOR TWO WEEKS, AND THEN WE HAVE WE GO INTO PURPLE AGAIN, DOES THAT DOES IT DOES IT START OVER AGAIN OR IS IT? YES, IT IS TWO CONSECUTIVE WEEKS. 
          SO IT DOES START OVER. 
          WHEN WE HAD OUR SCARE, I STARTED DIGGING INTO THE BLUEPRINT A LOT AND NOW PROBABLY KNOW MORE THAN ANYBODY EVER WANTS TO KNOW ABOUT THIS. 
          AND SO THERE ARE SOME ISSUES WITH THAT METRIC, TOO, BECAUSE IT'S ACTUALLY BASED ON A SINGLE DAY THAT THEY PULL. 
          SO THE STATE PULLS OUR MONDAY DATA. 
          AND IF WE WERE IN RED SUNDAY, SATURDAY, FRIDAY, THURSDAY, BUT HAPPENED TO BE IN A PURPLE ON MONDAY, THAT WOULD COUNT AS ONE WEEK, EVEN IF THEN ON TUESDAY WE WERE BACK IN THE RED. 
          SO IT'S EVEN SAYING THAT IT'S TWO WEEKS IS NOT REALLY ACCURATE. 
          IT'S TWO CONSECUTIVE TIMES THAT THE STATE LOOKS. 
          SO IN THAT SCENARIO WHERE YOU TALKED ABOUT OUT OF THE SEVEN DAYS IN THE WEEK, THE ONE DAY THAT THEY PULLED HAPPENED TO BE A DAY THAT WAS IN THE PURPLE CATEGORY. 
          CAN YOU CONTEST THAT? I MEAN, CAN YOU SAY, HEY, LOOK, IF WE'RE SHOWING A PATTERN OF BEING IN THERE FOR FOUR OR FIVE DAYS, BUT LITERALLY LUCK OF THE DRAW, PUT US THAT ON ONE SPIKE DAY IS THE DAY YOU HAPPENED TO PULL. CAN YOU HAVE CONVERSATIONS WITH THE STATE ABOUT THAT? YES, THERE'S A FORMAL ADJUDICATION PROCESS, IS WHAT IT IS CALLED. 
          [00:25:04]
AND WE WERE PREPARED FOR THAT. 
          WE WERE PREPARING FOR THAT BECAUSE OF THE. 
          SO WHEN YOU WHEN ANY REASONABLE PERSON HEARS YOU HAVE TO BE IN PURPLE FOR TWO WEEKS, YOU THINK YOU HAVE TO BE IN PURPLE FOR 14 DAYS. 
          WHAT WE WERE LOOKING AT IS THAT OF THE LAST 12 DAYS, WE WERE IN PURPLE FOR FIVE OF THEM. 
          SO THERE WAS A BLIP THAT WAS MORE THAN A DAY, BUT IT CERTAINLY WASN'T A SUSTAINED TWO WEEK PURPOSE OR PERIOD. 
          SO WE WERE PULLING THAT DATA AND ALREADY PRIMING THE STATE FOR SOME OF THOSE QUESTIONS. 
          AND ACTUALLY, BECAUSE OF THAT AND BECAUSE OF A COUPLE OF OTHER THINGS WE FOUND THAT ARE ALSO PROBLEMATIC THAT I'LL GET TO IN A LITTLE BIT. 
          WE THE STATE DID IMPLEMENT A NEW RULE ABOUT LOOKING AT MORE RECENT DATA BEFORE THEY SEND YOU BACKWARDS A TIER. 
          SO, YES, THERE IS A FORMAL PROCESS THROUGH WHICH YOU CAN CONTEST A TIER MOVEMENT WITH THE STATE. AND ALSO THEY ARE LOOKING AT THE FACT THAT THERE ARE SOME REAL KIND OF ISSUES WITH HOW THESE DATA ARE ASSESSED AND LOOKED AT ALSO. 
          OK, THANK YOU. OK. 
          SO I DO THINK THAT MOST PEOPLE AT THIS POINT ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE PUBLICIZED METRICS OF THE BLUEPRINT, BECAUSE THOSE HAVE BEEN REALLY PUBLICIZED, THEY'VE BEEN HAMMERED HOME. 
          WE'RE LOOKING AT TEST POSITIVITY AND WE'RE LOOKING AT OUR POSITIVE CASES BY DAY BASED ON THE NUMBER OF RESIDENTS WE HAVE IN MERCED COUNTY. 
          SO OUR TESTS OVERALL TEST POSITIVITY HAS BEEN REALLY GOOD AND STABLE FOR MONTHS. 
          IF YOU WILL REMEMBER, BACK WHEN WE WERE IN PURPLE, OUR TEST POSITIVITY RATE WAS IN RED AND THEN EVEN IN ORANGE FOR A REALLY LONG TIME BEFORE WE ACTUALLY MOVED INTO RED. 
          BECAUSE OF OUR CASES. 
          OUR CASES HAVE ALWAYS BEEN THE THING THAT'S HOLDING US BACK FROM FURTHER MOVEMENT AND ALSO FROM MOVING INTO RED TO BEGIN WITH. 
          SO OUR OVERALL TEST POSITIVITY, AS REPORTED BY THE STATE YESTERDAY, IS TWO POINT EIGHT PERCENT, WHICH IS ACTUALLY WITHIN THE ORANGE TIER. 
          OUR CASES PER DAY BY DAY PER THOUSAND RESIDENTS IS FIVE POINT TWO CURRENTLY, WHICH KEEPS US WITHIN THE RED TIER. 
          SO WE ARE COMFORTABLY WITHIN THE RED TIER RIGHT NOW. 
          BUT AS A REALLY IMPORTANT CAVEAT TO THIS, ALL OF THESE METRICS ARE BASED ON DATA THAT'S OVER TWO WEEKS OLD. 
          SO THAT'S ANOTHER THING THAT WE REALLY KIND OF UNCOVERED WHILE WE WERE IN THE PROCESS OF PREPARING FOR A POSSIBLE ADJUDICATION WAS THAT BY THE TIME WE KNEW FIRST ALERTED THAT WE WERE IN PURPLE, BASICALLY ALL OF THE DAYS THAT WE COULD HAVE DONE ANYTHING TO CHANGE IT HAD ALREADY PASSED. 
          SO THERE WAS NOTHING WE COULD DO. 
          YOU KNOW, IT WAS KIND OF JUST A WAIT AND SEE. 
          AND HOPEFULLY OUR NUMBERS ARE GOING TO BE BETTER. 
          AND  THAT IS IT IS A MAJOR PROBLEM. 
          RIGHT, BECAUSE THE WHOLE POINT IS TO HAVE AN ABILITY AS A COMMUNITY TO SAY, HEY, LOOK, OUR NUMBERS ARE GOING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION. 
          LET'S DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS SO THAT WE CAN KEEP OUR BUSINESSES OPEN SO WE CAN KEEP OUR KIDS IN SCHOOL. 
          THE WAY THAT IT'S SET UP BECAUSE OF THE DELAY IN THE DATA. 
          THAT'S NOT POSSIBLE. 
          IT WASN'T POSSIBLE AT THAT TIME. 
          THAT IS THE RULE THAT THEY'VE CHANGED. 
          SO I'LL GET TO THAT IN JUST A SECOND. 
          BUT I ALSO WANT TO SAY RIGHT NOW, THIS KIND OF BROKEN SYSTEM IS WORKING IN OUR FAVOR BECAUSE OUR CASES RIGHT NOW ARE HIGHER THAN SEVEN PER DAY PER HUNDRED THOUSAND. 
          SO, AGAIN, FOR US TO STAY WITHIN RED, WE'RE LOOKING AT ABOUT 20 CASES A DAY FOR US TO MOVE IN TO ORANGE. IT WOULD BE 11 CASES. 
          WE'VE NEVER EVEN GOTTEN CLOSE TO THAT. 
          SO REALLY, WE'RE JUST FOCUSING ON STAYING IN RED. 
          THAT'S OUR PRIORITY IS TRYING TO KEEP OUR CASES DOWN SO THAT WE CAN STAY IN RED. 
          AND AS I MENTIONED FOR PRETTY MUCH THE LAST WEEK, WE'VE BEEN HAVING ABOUT 40 CASES A DAY. 
          SO DOUBLE WHAT WE NEED TO. 
          SO THERE'S SOME ROOM, SOME SIGNIFICANT ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT TO BRING THOSE DOWN. 
          BECAUSE THE STATE IS LOOKING AT DATA THAT'S SO DELAYED. 
          THEY'RE LOOKING AT WHERE WE WERE ABOUT TWO WEEKS AGO, WHICH WAS BETTER. 
          WE WERE DOING BETTER AT THAT TIME. 
          SO PURPLE IS COMING UNLESS WE CAN REALLY DO SOMETHING AS A COMMUNITY TO TURN IT AROUND AND GET OUR CASES LOWER. 
          I HAVE A QUESTION REGARDING COMPANIES. 
          YOU KNOW, I KNOW BESIDES FOSTER FARMS OR OTHER BIG COMPANIES, ARE THERE MORE COMPANIES? YES. SO WE DO HAVE COMPANIES THAT ARE DOING SURVEILLANCE TESTING, WHICH WE ENCOURAGE BECAUSE THAT ALLOWS THEM TO IDENTIFY CASES REALLY QUICKLY AND THEN GET THEM OUT OF THE WORKPLACE. WE DO ALSO HAVE SOME COMPANIES THAT ARE IN OUTBREAK RIGHT NOW AND THOSE 
          [00:30:01]
OUTBREAK FACILITIES ARE DOING OUTBREAK TESTING. 
          SO. SO, YES. 
          THANK YOU. OK, SO THOSE ARE THE TWO METRICS THAT PRETTY MUCH ARE TALKED ABOUT THE MOST. 
          THEY'RE VERY PUBLICIZED. 
          THEY'RE VERY WELL KNOWN. 
          PEOPLE, I THINK, WHO NEVER WOULD HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT TEST POSITIVITY A MONTH AGO. 
          IT'S PRETTY COMMON, YOU KNOW, IN THE IN THE NOMENCLATURE RIGHT NOW, PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT IT. THOSE ARE THE ONES THAT ARE KNOWN. 
          BUT THERE ARE THREE OTHER REQUIREMENTS THAT ARE LESS KNOWN BUT ARE JUST AS IMPORTANT FOR US TO BE MOVING THROUGH THESE TIERS. 
          THOSE ARE THE HEALTH EQUITY METRIC, A TARGETED INVESTMENT PLAN AND OVERALL VOLUME OF TESTING, AS COMPARED AGAINST THE STATE MEDIAN. 
          SO I'M GOING TO TALK ABOUT ALL THREE OF THOSE AS WELL AND HOW THEY IMPACT OUR METRICS AND OUR POSSIBLE REOPENING. 
          SO FIRST, IT'S A HEALTH EQUITY METRIC. 
          WE HAVE DISCUSSED THIS BEFORE AT A MEETING, I BELIEVE THE LAST BOARD MEETING. 
          BUT ESSENTIALLY THIS INDEX IS USED. 
          IT'S CALLED THE HEALTHY PLACES INDEX. 
          IT WAS CREATED BY A PUBLIC HEALTH ALLIANCE DOWN IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. 
          IT ASSIGNS A SCORE BASED ON A VARIETY OF VARIABLES OF LIKE 21 DIFFERENT METRICS. 
          IT COMPLETES IT CREATES ONE COMPOSITE SCORE AND THEN ASSIGNS A SCORE TO EACH CENSUS TRACT IN THE STATE. SO THEIR COMPARISON WAS ACTUALLY ORIGINALLY A STATE WIDE COMPARISON SO THAT THE STATE COULD SEE WHAT COMMUNITIES MIGHT BENEFIT FROM MORE TARGETED INVESTMENT. 
          THAT TOOL HAS NOW BEEN UTILIZED WITHIN A COUNTY TO WITHIN A COUNTY ESTABLISH WHICH CENSUS TRACKS ARE MOST ADVANTAGED AND LEAST ADVANTAGED. 
          THEN WITHIN THOSE CENSUS TRACKS, THE TEST POSITIVITY RATE IS CALCULATED AND COMPARED AND [INAUDIBLE] THIS HAS GONE THROUGH A BUNCH OF DIFFERENT ITERATIONS, BUT WHAT THEY'VE LANDED ON IS THAT. 
          WHILE YOUR OVERALL TEST POSITIVITY RATE CAN MOVE YOU THROUGH A TIER, YOUR TEST POSITIVITY RATE IN THE MOST DISADVANTAGED QUARTILE HAS TO ALSO MEET THE CUTOFFS FOR IT TO MOVE INTO ANOTHER TIER. 
          SO WHAT THAT MEANS, IF WE GO BACK HERE, IS THAT IF WE'RE LOOKING NOW TO STAY, TO MOVE TO ORANGE, WE WOULD BE LOOKING FOR AN OVERALL COUNTY TEST POSITIVITY RATE OF BETWEEN TWO AND FOUR POINT NINE PERCENT. 
          BUT WE, IN ADDITION TO THAT, WOULD NEED FOR OUR THE TEST POSITIVITY RATE IN OUR MOST DISADVANTAGED QUARTILE OF CENSUS TRACKS TO ALSO BE LESS THAN FOUR POINT NINE PERCENT. 
          THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF A BUFFER, SO IT ENDS UP BEING LIKE FIVE POINT ONE PERCENT. 
          BUT ESSENTIALLY WE NEED OUR OVERALL COUNTY TO BE WITHIN THE TIER AS WELL AS OUR THE LOWEST, THE LEAST ADVANTAGED CENSUS TRACKS AS WELL. 
          SO TO THIS POINT, TO THIS. 
          ONE QUESTION, I'M SORRY. 
          SURE. DO YOU SPECIFICALLY HAVE THOSE CENSUS TRACKS IDENTIFIED ALREADY? YEAH, THE STATE HAS SENT US THE LIST OF CENSUS TRACTS THAT CONSISTS OF THIS QUARTILE. 
          YES. CAN WE GET THOSE? SURE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. 
          NO OTHER QUESTIONS? NO. THANK YOU. OK, SO UP UNTIL THIS POINT, WE'VE BEEN UNAFFECTED BY THIS. 
          TYPICALLY OUR QUARTILES, OUR LOWEST QUARTILE HAS BEEN DOING RIGHT ON PAR WITH THE WITH THE COUNTY AS A WHOLE. 
          SO OUR COUNTY AS A WHOLE RIGHT NOW IS TWO POINT EIGHT PERCENT. 
          CURRENTLY ARE OUR EQUITY QUARTILE IS WHAT WE CALL IT, IS WHAT THE STATE CALLS IT. 
          THE EQUITY QUARTILE IS AT THREE POINT THREE PERCENT. 
          SO A LITTLE HIGHER, BUT STILL WELL WITHIN THE ORANGE TIER. 
          THIS HAS FLUCTUATED AND HAS GOTTEN AS HIGH AS FOUR POINT EIGHT PERCENT, WHICH IS RIGHT ON THE CUSP OF THAT ORANGE AND RED, BUT IS AT UP UNTIL THIS POINT IS HAS BEEN UNAFFECTED, REALLY HASN'T AFFECTED US AT ANY TIME. 
          IT TENDS TO BE RIGHT AROUND WHERE OUR OVERALL COUNTY WAS, IS. 
          AND ACTUALLY, ON THE FLIP SIDE OF THIS, IF YOU HAVE IF YOUR TIER IS DOING REALLY, REALLY WELL, IF YOUR EQUITY TIER HAS A TEST POSITIVE ACTIVITY RATE THAT'S ACTUALLY REALLY LOW AND IS IN A LOWER TIER THEN THAN WHERE YOU ARE AS A COUNTY, YOU CAN ACTUALLY SPEED UP MOVING THROUGH THE TIERS BASED ON THAT. 
          SO TYPICALLY PEOPLE ARE LOOKING AT THIS IS KIND OF LIKE THE STICK, THE PUNISHMENT PART OF IF YOU HAVEN'T MET YOUR QUARTILE, IF YOUR QUARTILE HASN'T MET THE RIGHT TIER, THEN YOU CAN'T MOVE FORWARD. BUT THERE IS ALSO A CARROT BUILT IN TO WHERE IF YOUR EQUITY TIER IS DOING REALLY WELL, YOU CAN MOVE FORWARD A LITTLE BIT FASTER. 
          [00:35:07]
GO AHEAD SUPERVISOR. WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY A LITTLE BIT FASTER, LIKE INSTEAD OF HAVING TO BE THERE TWO WEEKS, YOU GET TO GO TO ONE WEEK, YOU GET TO GO A DAY EARLY? YEAH, A WEEK. IT'S A WEEK ACCELERATION. 
          YEAH. SO IF YOUR CASES ARE TRENDING DOWNWARD, BUT YOUR CASES HAVE YOU LOCKED IN A HIGHER TIER AND YOUR EQUITY QUARTILE HAS A TEST POSITIVITY RATE, THAT'S ACTUALLY TWO TIERS LOWER THAN YOU CAN MOVE FASTER INTO THE NEXT TIER. 
          THAT ACTUALLY WAS ONE OF THE REASONS WE MOVED INTO RED A WEEK EARLIER THAN WE THOUGHT WE WERE GOING TO WAS BECAUSE OUR TEST, OUR OUR EQUITY QUARTILE WAS TESTING SO LOW. 
          ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? NO. 
          OK, ALL RIGHT, SO THE NEXT PIECE IS A TARGETED INVESTMENT PLAN, AND THIS IS A PLAN SUBMITTED TO CDPH TO HIGHLIGHT HOW MERCED COUNTY IS DOING TARGETED WORK TO ELIMINATE DISPARITIES AND LEVEL OF COVID-19 TRANSMISSION THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY. 
          SO AS YOU KNOW, COMMUNITIES IN THE LATINX COMMUNITY, AS WELL AS IN THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN OR BLACK COMMUNITY HAVE A HIGHER RISK OF COVID-19 AS WELL AS SEVERE COVID-19. 
          THAT'S NOT HERE. JUST HERE THAT IS STATE AND NATIONWIDE. 
          THOSE COMMUNITIES ARE BEARING A HIGHER BRUNT OF COVID-19 THAN OTHER COMMUNITIES. 
          SO THIS IS TO SHOW HOW WE WILL WORK WITH THOSE COMMUNITIES AS WELL AS OTHER COMMUNITIES THAT WE'VE IDENTIFIED WHO MIGHT BE AT HIGH RISK. 
          SO, FOR EXAMPLE, HERE ARE AG WORKERS, OUR AG POPULATION AROUND WHICH WE'VE ALREADY DONE QUITE A BIT OF OUTREACH AND MESSAGING, AS WELL AS MASK DISTRIBUTION AND VARIOUS OTHER THINGS. SO WHAT THIS PLAN IS, IS THAT IT SHOWS HOW WE'RE GOING TO TAKE OUR GRANT DOLLARS FROM THE STATE AND INVEST A PORTION OF THOSE INTO THOSE COMMUNITIES THAT WE'VE IDENTIFIED THAT ARE AT HIGHER RISK FOR COVID-19. 
          SO WE DID THAT ON OCTOBER 15TH. 
          WE SUBMITTED IT. IT WAS APPROVED WITH EDITS ON OCTOBER TWENTY THIRD BY THE STATE. 
          WE'RE STILL PENDING ON PENDING THOSE EDITS. 
          WE HAVEN'T WE'VE BEEN TOLD THERE ARE SOME EDITS, BUT WE HAVEN'T RECEIVED THE EDITS. 
          AND SO THE UNEDITED VERSION THAT HAS BEEN MOSTLY APPROVED IS AVAILABLE ONLINE ALREADY ON THE STATE'S WEBSITE. 
          THOSE WILL REMAIN PUBLIC AS WE MAKE CHANGES TO IT THROUGHOUT. 
          SO WE HAVE MET THAT REQUIREMENT. 
          AND THEN THE LAST REQUIREMENT, AND THIS IS PERHAPS THE ONE THAT HAS CAUSED THE MOST QUESTIONS AND CONFUSION AND HEARTACHE, I THINK, HERE IN THE COMMUNITY IS THE VOLUME OF TESTING. AND SO WE ARE MEASURED ON THE NUMBER OF TESTS WE DO DAILY BY OUR ONE PER ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND RESIDENTS. OUR CURRENT POPULATION IS 287,420. 
          AND SO IT'S HOW MANY TESTS PER DAY ARE WE DOING? BASICALLY TIMES TWO POINT EIGHT SEVEN IS BASICALLY HOW IT WORKS OUT. 
          AND I WISH THAT I COULD SHOW YOU A SET THRESHOLD AT WHICH WE NEEDED TO BE TESTING AND MEET. BUT I CAN'T BECAUSE WE ARE NOT JUDGED ON A SET THRESHOLD. 
          WE'RE JUDGED ON THE STATE MEDIAN. 
          SO WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT THE STATE IS CALCULATING THE TESTING THAT ALL OF THE COUNTIES ARE DOING INDIVIDUALLY AND BASICALLY ALL 58 COUNTIES ARE IN A COMPETITION AGAINST EACH OTHER TO TEST MORE. 
          AND SO THE STATE MEDIAN CHANGES RIGHT AT THIS POINT, EVERYBODY IS JUST RACING TO TEST. 
          SOME COUNTIES ARE MORE SUCCESSFUL AT THAT. 
          AND SO THEY UPDATE THE STATE MEDIAN EVERY MONTH AND THEN COMPARE US TO A NEW BENCHMARK EVERY MONTH. BASICALLY HOW THIS WORKS IS THAT IF WE ARE ABOVE THE MEDIAN, WE GET A CREDIT TOWARDS OUR CASES. 
          SO WHAT THAT MEANS IS, LET'S SAY WE WERE AT EIGHT CASES PER DAY, WHICH WOULD PUT US INTO PURPLE, BUT WE WERE TESTING ABOVE THE STATE MEDIAN. 
          THEY WOULD ACTUALLY DECREASE OUR OUR CASES A LITTLE BIT SO THAT WE MIGHT STAY IN RED AT THAT TIME. SO BECAUSE WE ARE CONSTANTLY ON THE BUBBLE BETWEEN RED AND PURPLE, THIS BECOMES VERY IMPORTANT BECAUSE OUR CASES CAN EITHER BE WE COULD EITHER GET A CREDIT OR MORE FREQUENTLY. 
          WHAT HAS BEEN HAPPENING IS THAT WE'VE BEEN GETTING A PENALTY BECAUSE WE'RE NOT MEETING THE MEDIAN OF STATE TESTING. 
          AND SO THAT MEANS THAT OUR CASES MAY TRULY BE YOU KNOW SEVEN. 
          BUT WHAT IS REPORTED AND WHAT'S USED FOR OUR TIER ASSIGNMENT WOULD BE EIGHT. 
          ROUGHLY SPEAKING, IT'S NOT EXACTLY HOW IT WORKS, BUT THAT'S VERY GENERALLY WHAT'S 
          [00:40:03]
HAPPENING. SO THIS WAS OCCURRING WHEN WE WERE ON THE BUBBLE FOR PURPLE. 
          I DO WANT TO JUST PUT AS A CAVEAT RIGHT NOW, OUR TRUE CASES PUT US FIRMLY WITHIN PURPLE. 
          RIGHT? SO THIS IS ALL KIND OF WHEN WE GET OUR CASES BACK DOWN AND WHEN WE'RE BACK INTO THAT BUBBLE RIGHT NOW, THE WAY THAT WE ARE AND THE THE WAY THAT OUR CASES ARE SPREADING IN THE COMMUNITY RIGHT NOW, WE ARE FIRMLY WITHIN PURPLE, REGARDLESS OF OUR TESTING NUMBERS. BUT FOR WHEN WE GET OUR CASES BACK DOWN AND WE'RE BACK ON THIS BUBBLE, THIS BECOMES VERY IMPORTANT. 
          SO CURRENTLY WE'RE TESTING AT 196.5 TESTS A DAY PER HUNDRED THOUSAND. 
          AND THE STATE IS AT 239 TESTS A DAY PER HUNDRED THOUSAND, BUT THIS IS, I WOULD SAY, WHERE WE HAVE SPENT THE MOST EFFORT IN HIGHLIGHTING THAT THIS PARTICULAR METRIC IS UNFAIR TO THE STATE AND IT'S UNFAIR BOTH BECAUSE OF THE CHANGING THRESHOLD, WHICH IS DIFFICULT TO EXPLAIN AND THE DIFFICULTY IN TESTING. 
          YOU KNOW, PEOPLE DON'T WANT TO GET TESTED. 
          THEY DON'T NECESSARILY UNDERSTAND WHY THEY SHOULD GET TESTED, IF THEY'RE HEALTHY, ET CETERA. BUT WHEN WE WERE IN THE RED TIER, WE DID OR WHEN WE WERE IN THE PURPLE TIER, WE WERE IN DANGER OF MOVING INTO PURPLE. 
          I DID PULL THESE NUMBERS BASED ON WHO WAS GETTING THE CREDIT AND WHO WAS GETTING THE PENALTY. AND WHAT WE FOUND WAS THAT THE MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME OF THE COUNTIES RECEIVING THE CREDIT WAS 74,855 DOLLARS. 
          THE MEDIAN INCOME OF THE COUNTIES RECEIVING THE PENALTY IS WAS 54,933 DOLLARS. 
          SO IT'S ALMOST A TWENTY THOUSAND DOLLAR DIFFERENCE IN THE COUNTIES THAT WERE RECEIVING A BENEFIT FROM TESTING VERSUS A PENALTY FROM TESTING. 
          AND IT'S NOT SURPRISING AT ALL. 
          WE KNOW THAT THE COUNTIES WITH MORE RESOURCES ARE ABLE TO POUR MORE RESOURCES INTO BUMPING UP THEIR TESTING NUMBERS. 
          AND THAT'S WHAT WE WERE SEEING AND THAT'S WHAT WE CONTINUE TO SEE. 
          SO WE YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN FOCUSED ON EQUITY WITHIN THE COUNTY AND THIS IS INEQUITABLE BETWEEN THE COUNTIES WITHIN THE STATE. 
          SO THAT'S THE MESSAGING AROUND THIS PARTICULAR METRIC THAT THE PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT HAS BEEN MOVING FORWARD. BUT I KNOW ALSO HAS BEEN MOVING FORWARD THROUGH OTHER MEANS AND MECHANISMS AS WELL. 
          SUPERVISOR SILVEIRA HAS ANOTHER QUESTION. 
          IT'S MORE OF COMMENTS. 
          IS IT IS IN MY MIND, WORK OUT SCENARIOS HOW THIS IS UNFAIR. 
          I MEAN, IF YOU'RE IF YOU'RE A SMALL COUNTY, ALPINE COUNTY, AND I WANT TO PICK ON THEM, BUT THEY HAVE SO FEW RESIDENTS AND THEY LITERALLY GET, YOU KNOW, 20, 30 PEOPLE TO TEST. 
          MAN THEIR NUMBERS GO WAY UP. 
          IT'S SO AND THEN I GUESS THE BIGGEST FRUSTRATING PART IS THIS IS CALIFORNIA. 
          WE TALK QUITE OFTEN ABOUT EQUITY AND FAIRNESS AND WANTING TO BE FAIR. 
          BUT IN THIS SITUATION, WE'RE BEING PENALIZED BECAUSE WE'RE NOT AS RICH AS SOME OTHER COUNTIES. AND THEN TO HOLD YOU ACCOUNTABLE TO CHANGING YOUR NUMBERS BASED UPON THESE THINGS, I DON'T KNOW DR. 
          SULLIVAN. AND I THINK IT'S AT SOME POINT, COUNCIL, DO I CAN WE SUE THE STATE OVER THIS? IT'S THEY'RE DISCRIMINATING AGAINST US. 
          IT'S AND IT'S IT JUST BECAUSE I'M TO THE POINT WHERE, MAN, IF YOU COULD JUST MAKE LIKE. 
          YES. YOU SAID IS TELL US HOW MANY TESTS WE HAVE TO HAVE IN A DAY AND QUIT MOVING THE GOALPOSTS ON US. IF THAT THEN AS ELECTED OFFICIALS, YOU GUYS AS THE PUBLIC HEALTH EXPERTS, IT KIND OF GIVES US SOMEWHERE TO BE ABLE TO GO OUT AND DO OUTREACH AND SAY, HEY, WE NEED TO MEET X AMOUNT OF TESTS A DAY AND IT KEEPS US MOVING IN THE DIRECTION. 
          BUT WHEN IT'S CONSTANTLY MOVING, I'M JUST SO FRUSTRATED THAT I'M READY. 
          I'M READY. I'M JUST GOING TO TELL YOU GUYS. 
          I'VE WENT ALONG, I WENT ALONG, I WENT ALONG. 
          I'M NOT WILLING TO GO BACK TO PURPLE. 
          AND I'M DONE BECAUSE THE STATE SITS THERE AND TALKS ABOUT WANTING TO PUT THE DECISIONS IN THE LOCAL HEALTH OFFICIALS HANDS. 
          BUT IT'S ALL B.S. THEY REALLY WANT TO JUST TELL YOU WHAT TO DO AND TRY TO CONFUSE IT SO MUCH THAT WE'RE LOST. 
          WE DON'T I MEAN, IT'S LIKE YOU DON'T KNOW IF YOU'RE COMING OR YOU'RE GOING. 
          YOU DON'T KNOW. I DON'T KNOW. 
          I'M OVER IT. I GET IT. 
          DR. NANYONJO SAID LONG TIME AGO WE ALL MIGHT BE COVID BUT COVID IS NOT DONE WITH US. 
          I STILL THINK THAT THERE'S THINGS THAT WE CAN DO LOCALLY TO TRY TO HELP PROTECT OURSELVES, PROTECT OUR CITIZENS, PROTECT THE MOST VULNERABLE AMONG US. 
          AND I THINK WE'RE DOING THOSE THINGS. 
          BUT THEY'RE THEY DON'T FEEL OUR PAIN UP THERE IN SACRAMENTO. 
          AND I'M SUPREMELY DISAPPOINTED IN OUR STATE LEGISLATURE IN HOW LITTLE THEY HAVE GOTTEN INVOLVED IN THIS. IT'S JUST AND I KNOW IT HAS TO FRUSTRATE YOU GUYS, BUT I JUST THINK THAT, LOOK, WE TAKE A SNAPSHOT OF WHAT WE LIKE WITH THIS WHOLE PURPLE, YELLOW, RED, 
          [00:45:04]
ORANGE, ALL THE COLORS. 
          AND WE SAY, OK, THESE ARE THE PARAMETERS. 
          AND AS LONG AS WE'RE COMFORTABLE, WE'LL GO THROUGH OR I THINK IT BEHOOVES US TO GO THROUGH OUR PURPLE AND RED AND ORANGE, AS YOU GUYS SEE FIT, AS OUR PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT SEES FIT. 
          AND I KNOW THAT COMES WITH CONSEQUENCES. 
          AND I KNOW THAT THE CO HAS TO ATTEST TO STUFF. 
          BUT IT IS EVERY TIME YOU GUYS MAKE A NEW REPORT, WE GET A NEW UPDATE. 
          I GET EVEN MORE FRUSTRATED WITH THE STATE. 
          THAT THEY'RE NOT LETTING US DO OUR JOBS. 
          THEY'RE NOT LETTING YOU GUYS SPECIFICALLY. 
          PUBLIC HEALTH DO THEIR JOBS AND THEN JUST TO ADD ICING ON THE CAKE IS NOW THEY'RE DISCRIMINATING AGAINST MERCED COUNTY BECAUSE OUR MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME ISN'T AS MUCH AS I'M GOING TO SAY, SOME OF THE BAY AREA COUNTIES AND I'M SURE SOME OTHER SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA COUNTIES. 
          WE'RE BEING DISCRIMINATED AGAINST. 
          AND WHEN IS ENOUGH ENOUGH? I JUST I TRUST YOU GUYS TO COME UP WITH THE METRIC AND WE DO OUR OWN THING AND YOU'RE GOING TO GIVE THE NUMBERS, HEY, IF WE'RE ABOVE THIS, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO SLOW OUR ROLE A LITTLE BIT. IF WE'RE TO GET TO THIS NEXT NUMBER, WE CAN OPEN BACK UP. 
          BUT THEY CAN'T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS. 
          THEY CAN'T SIT THERE AND WANT TO PUT ALL THE PRESSURE ON ALL OF US AS ELECTED OFFICIALS. 
          YOU GUYS, AS THE LOCAL PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT, YOU GET ALL THE GRIEF, WHATEVER WE WHATEVER WE GOT TO TAKE THE GRIEF. 
          WE GOT TO FIGURE IT OUT. 
          THEY CAN'T HAVE THEIR CAKE AND EAT IT, TOO, AND THEN DICTATE TO US THESE CRAZY THAT. 
          HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU? AND THIS IS YOUR FIELD OF EXPERTISE TO GO THROUGH AND UNDERSTAND AND REALLY YOU GET A CREDIT OR A PENALTY. 
          BUT WHAT REALLY IS THE CREDIT AND PENALTY? BECAUSE IT MOVES ALL THE TIME. 
          I DON'T KNOW. I SAY WE'RE IN RED UNTIL YOU GUYS UNTIL PUBLIC HEALTH TELLS ME WE'RE GOING TO PURPLE. AND I'M STILL UPSET WITH THE WAY THAT THEY MOVED US INTO RED. 
          WE HAD A MEETING AND YOU GUYS SAT HERE WITH THE CURRENT INFORMATION THAT YOU HAD TOLD US WE WERE IN PURPLE. THE MEETING GETS OVER. 
          A CONSTITUENT OF MINE TEXTED ME AND SAYS JUST WENT TO THE STATE'S WEBSITE AND IT SAYS, YOU GUYS ARE IN RED. SO I'M SITTING THERE. 
          WELL, THERE MUST BE A MISTAKE OR WHATEVER. 
          AND THEN IT'S LIKE, OH, AFTER THE FACT, THEY DECIDED TO LET THE COUNTY KNOW IT. 
          BOARD OF SUPERVISORS MEET ON TUESDAYS. 
          THAT'S LIKE COMMON KNOWLEDGE, THAT IS EVERYWHERE. 
          YOU THINK YOU JUST THINK THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE CALLED YOU GUYS A LITTLE BIT AHEAD WHEN THEY KNEW YOU HAD A TEN O'CLOCK MEETING AND GAVE YOU THE HEADS UP THAT WE WERE GOING INTO RED MIGHT BE SOMETHING NICE FOR YOU GUYS TO BE ABLE TO SHARE SOME GOOD NEWS. 
          NO, THEY GO AND PLAY THEIR GAMES AND THEN WE FIND OUT AFTERWARDS. 
          AND I KNOW THIS IS NOT DIRECTED AT YOU. 
          THIS IS DIRECTLY DIRECTED AT THE STATE. 
          I'M JUST FRUSTRATED WITH IT. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH IS LIKE I TRUST YOU GUYS. 
          YOU GUYS HAVE NOT LET US ASTRAY IN THIS WHOLE DEAL AND WHEN YOU'VE TOLD US TOLD ME STUFF ANYWAYS. I BELIEVE IT. 
          I WHOLEHEARTEDLY BELIEVE WHAT YOU TELL ME. 
          WE NEED TO GET PEOPLE OUT THERE TO TEST MORE. 
          THAT'S WHAT I'M GOING TO TRY TO ACCOMPLISH. 
          I'M TIRED OF THE STATE TELLING US WHAT TO DO. 
          THEY'RE IT'S I DON'T KNOW. 
          DR. NANYONJO DO YOU WANT TO COMMENT ON IT? BECAUSE I'M JUST. YES, I DO I FEEL YOUR FRUSTRATION. 
          AND I THINK THAT IT'S AN ECHO OF WHAT PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY ARE ALSO FEELING. 
          SO I WANTED TO COMMENT ON THAT. 
          YESTERDAY, WE DID HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO DISCUSS WITH DR. 
          MARK GHALY, WHO'S THE SECRETARY OF HEALTH FOR THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA. 
          AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE FEELING THROUGHOUT THE CENTRAL VALLEY. 
          THEY HAVE AT THE STATE LEVEL PUT TOGETHER A UNIFIED TASK FORCE TO IDENTIFY SOME OF THESE ISSUES THAT YOU'RE SPEAKING ABOUT. 
          THE ONE THING THAT I WANT TO EMPHASIZE HERE, BECAUSE WE DO FEEL THAT FRUSTRATION, WE ALSO ARE LIKE, OK, WHAT DIRECTION WE'RE GOING? WE'RE GOING TO UP DOWN RIGHT OR LEFT. 
          BUT THAT'S THE NATURE OF THE BEAST WHEN YOU'RE DEALING WITH OUTBREAKS. 
          AND SO FOR US TO DEVIATE FROM THAT, I, YOU KNOW, JUST FROM A COMMUNITY PERSPECTIVE, WOULD NOT PUT US A HEDGE AHEAD. 
          THERE ARE 41 STATES OUT OF THE 50 IN THE UNION THAT ARE EXPERIENCED EXTREME [INAUDIBLE]. 
          CALIFORNIA IS NOT ONE OF THEM. 
          WHILE OUR NUMBERS ARE LOW, IT'S A LOT OF THESE BARRIERS. 
          NOT ALL OF THEM ARE SUCCESSFUL. 
          I WOULD SAY THE FRUSTRATION THAT WE FEEL ON THE MAJORITY OF THEM IS FEVER PITCH AT ALL TIMES. THE ONE THING THAT THE STATE HAS DONE VERY WELL, THOUGH, IS AVAIL THEMSELVES TO SAY WHAT ARE THE QUESTIONS? WHAT IS IT THAT YOU'D LIKE FOR US TO SEE DIFFERENTLY? IT'S VERY HARD, ABSENT A NATIONAL MODEL FOR A STATE TO ADOPT A SIZE THAT'S GOING TO FIT EVERY JURISDICTION. AND THAT'S THE CHALLENGE THAT THEY COME UP AGAINST. 
          BUT THE ONE THING I WILL SAY THAT I THINK IS TO OUR BENEFIT IS HAVING THAT REVOLVING OPEN DOOR COMMUNICATION, BEING ABLE TO GO TO THEM AND SAYING THIS ISN'T WORKING. 
          WE'D LIKE TO SEE IT LIKE THIS. 
          AND IT'S BASED ON EXCUSE ME, BASED ON THOSE RELATIONSHIPS THAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO MOVE NEEDLES WHERE OTHERWISE THEY'VE REMAINED STILL. 
          SO I KNOW THERE'S FRUSTRATION, BUT FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE COMMUNITY RESIDENTS, IF THERE IS CONFIDENCE, THAT SENSE OF CONFIDENCE IN PUBLIC HEALTH, TAKE THAT FRUSTRATION OUT ON US SO WE CAN LIAISE WITH THE STATE AND COME UP WITH SOMETHING THAT'S GOING TO WORK FOR 
          [00:50:03]
THIS COUNTY, BECAUSE THAT'S THE ONLY WAY WE'RE GOING TO GET THROUGH THIS PANDEMIC. 
          IT'S AFFECTING EVERYBODY, NOT JUST SOLELY US. 
          I KNOW IT'S YOU KNOW, THIS IS JUST THE NATURE OF PANDEMICS. 
          THERE IS NO SUCH THING. I'VE SAID IT BEFORE AS AN OUTBREAK THAT GOES ON FOR OVER A YEAR AND WE'RE CRESTING THAT. 
          AND IT'S NOT JUST US THAT ARE IMPACTED. 
          SO I ASK THAT YOU BEAR WITH US AND LET US BE YOUR VOICE BOX WHEN IT COMES TO LIAISING WITH THE STATES. SO WE DON'T MISSTEP, ESPECIALLY TEN MONTHS INTO THIS. 
          AND I GET THAT. AND I APPRECIATE YOU SAYING THAT. 
          AND I KNOW THAT YOU GUYS HAVE YOU'VE BUILT UP A LOT OF CREDIBILITY AND WORKING WITH THOSE FOLKS, BUT I STILL CAN'T GET OVER THE PART WHERE THEY ARE DISCRIMINATING AGAINST US BASED. IT THE FACT IS, IS THAT WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE NUMBERS OF THE COUNTIES THAT ARE MEETING THEIR CRITERIA AND WHO ARE BELOW THE STATE MEDIAN, IT BOILS BACK TO INCOME. 
          AND THERE'S PLENTY OF PEOPLE OUT THERE THAT ARE A LOT SMARTER THAN ME THAT HAVE DONE STUDIES THAT EXPLAINS ALL THAT. 
          IT'S RIGHT THERE IN WRITING. 
          AND FOR THEM TO KNOW, THEY KNOW THAT IT'S NOT LIKE THEY DON'T KNOW THAT. 
          AND THEN FOR US TO REMIND THEM OF THAT AND STILL BE PENALIZED FOR IT IS. 
          AND I WOULD SAY THE INCOME THING IS FOR THE EQUATION OF THINGS THAT WE'RE MEASURED AGAINST. THAT'S ONE THING THAT WE PICKED UP ON OUT OF CURIOSITY. 
          THANK YOU, KRISTYNN. RIGHT. 
          BUT I DON'T EVEN THINK AT THE TIME THAT THESE THINGS WERE DECIDED ON THAT THEY WERE EVEN AWARE BECAUSE WE SHARED THAT WITH THEM DURING OUR WEEKLY MEETINGS AND THEY RECOGNIZE THAT. BUT FRESNO COUNTY, WHO WAS ALSO ON THE CALL YESTERDAY WITH DR. 
          GHALY, WE DON'T HAVE A HEALTH CARE INFRASTRUCTURE IN THIS COMMUNITY. 
          WE'RE NOT ABLE TO SAY, HEY, LET'S EXPAND OUR TESTING BY WORKING THROUGH OUR ROBUST COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER SYSTEM. 
          THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT FRAMEWORKS THAT JUST AS A COMMUNITY WE NEED TO ELEVATE. 
          SO WHEN IT COMES TO TIMES LIKE THESE, WE HAVE PLACES THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY BRANCH OUT TO AND AMPLIFY WHAT IT IS THAT WE'RE DOING. 
          RIGHT NOW, EVERYTHING FALLS ON WHAT WE GET AS A RESOURCE, WHETHER IT'S FROM THE STATE OR THROUGH SOME TYPE OF PARTNERSHIP WITH ANOTHER DIFFERENT ENTITY. 
          FRESNO'S NOT DEALING WITH THAT, STANISLAUS ISN'T DEALING WITH THAT. 
          SO SOME OF IT IS NOT JUST WHOLLY THE STATE BECAUSE BUT THAT ECONOMIC SHORTFALL CAN BE MADE UP WITH AVAILABILITY, HIGHER AVAILABILITY OF TESTING ELSEWHERE, HIGHER AVAILABILITY, X, Y AND Z. WE JUST DON'T HAVE THAT AS A COMMUNITY NOW. 
          SO IT DOESN'T SOLELY FALL ON THAT. 
          BUT AS KRISTYNN STATED, WE ALSO BENEFIT FROM THE CREDIT COMPONENT THAT YOU SEE THERE IN GREEN THAT A LOT OF OUR SISTER COUNTIES THROUGHOUT THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY ALSO DON'T BENEFIT FROM. SO WHILE WE'RE GOOD WITH THE HEALTHY PLACES INDEX AND WHERE WE LOOK AT OURSELVES PER QUARTILE, WE DON'T FARE WELL WHEN IT COMES TO MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME. 
          WHAT I'M SAYING, I GUESS WITHIN THAT EQUATION ARE SO MANY DIFFERENT PARAMETERS THAT IF WE FOCUS SOLELY ON THAT, WE LOSE OUT WHERE CREDITS COULD SIMPLY TURN INTO PENALTIES, DEPENDING ON WHO'S LISTENING TO THIS DISCUSSION. 
          SO I JUST WANT TO BE CAREFUL BECAUSE WE ARE IN GOOD STANDING WITH THE STATE THAT IT CONTINUES TO GO IN THAT DIRECTION BECAUSE WE DO HAVE AN AUDIENCE WITH THEM AND THEY DO TAKE OUR CONCERNS UNDER ADVISEMENT. 
          AND I GET THAT IT JUST IT'S A GUESS FOR ME. 
          WHAT IT BOILS BACK DOWN TO AGAIN IS, IS THERE'S SO MANY DIFFERENT MOVING THINGS THAT NOW WE'RE RELYING ON ONE SECTION. 
          WE'RE BETTER AT IT BECAUSE OF THE WAY THE COOKIE CRUMBLES AND THEN ANOTHER SECTION, WE'RE NOT AS GOOD AND WE ARE. 
          AND I KNOW IT'S A PANDEMIC AND NONE OF US HAVE SEEN ONE LIKE THIS, BUT YOU GUYS ARE THE EXPERTS IN IT. AND I JUST THINK THAT I'M THANKFUL FOR THE RELATIONSHIPS YOU HAVE WITH THEM. BUT I AM FRUSTRATED THAT IT'S JUST THE WHOLE SYSTEM IF THEY WANT THEIR CAKE AND EAT IT, TOO. AND I HAD IT UP TO HERE. 
          AND I APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT YOU GUYS ARE DOING, THE RELATIONSHIPS YOU BUILT. 
          BUT I'M JUST LOOKING AT IT FROM AS I HAVE CONSTITUENTS IN THIS GAME AND THE KIDS ARE THERE TALKING ABOUT GOING BACK TO SCHOOL. 
          BUT THEN IF WE GO TO A DIFFERENT CATEGORY, THAT CHANGES THAT. 
          AND THEN SO THEY'RE GOING TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL FOR TWO WEEKS AND THEN YOU'RE GOING TO BE OUT OF IT AND THESE ARE A LOT OF WHAT IF SCENARIOS. 
          BUT THEY THROWN OUT ALL THE TIME AND I GET IT, UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF. 
          BUT WE'RE MAKING THEM AWARE OF THEM. 
          AND IF THEY ARE COMMITTED TO EQUITY, AS MUCH AS THEY ALL SIT THERE AND PREACH THAT THEY ARE, THEY SHOULD BE LISTENING TO US. 
          WHEN WE POINT OUT I GET IT, THEY THREW SOMETHING TOGETHER. 
          THAT'S WHAT THEY DO. THEY THROW THE STUFF TOGETHER. 
          AND THEN WHEN WE PUT IT IN THE REAL WORLD PRACTICE, WE FIND ALL THE ERRORS IN IT. 
          BUT IT'S TO ME IS HOW SOON ARE THEY REACTING TO, LOOK IT? WE'RE AT A DISADVANTAGE HERE. 
          AND ALL I HAVE TO SAY TO THAT, AND IT'S NOT AND WE CAN SPEAK, YOU KNOW, A SEPARATE FROM THIS IS EVERY OUTBREAK. 
          IT'S JUST LIKE THIS. 
          IT'S JUST HAPPENS TO BE THE OUTBREAK ALL OF YOU ARE AWARE OF BECAUSE IT'S BEEN LASTING AS LONG AS IT HAS. AND IT'S NOW A PANDEMIC. 
          BUT THERE ARE FAR WORSE OUTBREAKS WITH FAR MUCH MORE DEBILITATING AND DELETERIOUS OUTCOMES AND EFFECTS. SO I GUESS WHAT I LEAVE THIS BOARD WITH. 
          OH, AND BY THE WAY, FOR FOR THE COUNTY. 
          I'M BECKY NANYONJO, I'M PUBLIC HEALTH DIRECTOR. 
          I APOLOGIZE. I JUST KIND OF CAME UP HERE. 
          BUT WHAT I WOULD SAY IS THAT WE WOULD RATHER BE THE SPONGE FOR THESE CONVERSATIONS AND LETTING US HANDLE IT WHEN IT COMES TO INTERACTING WITH THE STATE, IF THAT TRUST EXTENDS TO HOW WE'RE ABLE TO LIAISE WITH THEM. 
          [00:55:01]
AND SO I JUST ASK FOR THAT PERMISSION. 
          AND, YOU KNOW, I'LL TELL YOU THIS, SCOTT, MOST PEOPLE WOULD BE LIKE, YOU KNOW, TAKE TO THE STATE, MAKE OUR LIVES EASIER. 
          BUT I WANT FROM THE COMMUNITY PERSPECTIVE FOR US TO CONTINUE KIND OF TRAIPSING AND GOING AT THE GALLOP THAT WE'VE ESTABLISHED. 
          IT'S TAKING A LONG TIME TO GET HERE. 
          AND WE DON'T WANT, YOU KNOW, IT'S KIND OF REPUTATION RIGHT. 
          GAINED IN INCHES, LOST MILES, AND IT IS THE STATE VERSUS US. 
          AND SO WE WANT TO BE ALIGNED. 
          THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU BECKY. 
          SUPERVISOR, I THINK THE CO, JIM BROWN, HAD TO COMMENT. 
          THANK YOU. CHAIR. DR. 
          NANYONJO TOOK SOME OF MY COMMENTS. 
          SO. VERY WELL STATED FROM A BOARD PERSPECTIVE. 
          I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THE BOARDS WHERE WE ARE ALSO VERY ENGAGED ON THIS EXACT CONVERSATION AT THE STATE THROUGH OUR ASSOCIATION AND OUTLETS ALSO. 
          YES, INCOME IS PART OF IT. 
          DR. NANYONJO MENTIONED FROM A HEALTH INFRASTRUCTURE. 
          WHEN YOU ACTUALLY LOOK AT MANY OF THE COUNTIES THAT ARE RECEIVING THE CREDIT, THEY HAVE SIGNIFICANT HEALTH INFRASTRUCTURES IN PLACE. 
          AND THEY ALSO HAVE I'LL SAY SOME LARGE EMPLOYERS OR UNIVERSITIES, EDUCATION SYSTEMS THAT ACTUALLY HAVE STUDENTS AND THINGS THAT ARE DOING TESTING SO THAT HAVE LARGE HEALTH INFRASTRUCTURES THAT GO THROUGH THAT. 
          SO WHEN WE ANALYZE THE DATA ON THIS, THOSE ARE OTHER THINGS THAT JUMP OUT, I WILL POINT OUT, IS NOT IN THE RECENT, BUT I'LL PROBABLY ABOUT TWO OR THREE WEEKS AGO WHEN YOU LOOKED AT THE COUNTIES THAT WERE ALL CALLING THAT RED PENALTY PHASES, THERE WERE ABOUT SIX OR SEVEN THROUGH THE STATE. 
          FIVE OF THEM WERE IN THE VALLEY. 
          AND SO IT JUST YOU KNOW, IT IS IT IS KIND OF COMMON THREAD. 
          WE HAVE BEEN WORKING CLOSELY WITH A COUPLE OF MY COLLEAGUES FROM THE VALLEY COUNTIES WHO EVEN AS OF LAST WEEK, TRYING TO PUT TOGETHER SOME OPTIONS. 
          AND I KNOW AS A RESULT OF SOME OF THE CONVERSATIONS OF MY ASSOCIATION, THERE HAVE BEEN SOME VERY DIRECT CONVERSATIONS WITH DR. 
          GHALY ALSO. SO WE ARE TRYING TO APPROACH THIS IN TANDEM, KEEP EACH OTHER IN THE LOOP, YOU KNOW, AND WE'VE EVEN HAD SOME VERY WHAT I WOULD CALL ENERGIZED CONVERSATIONS WITH LEADERSHIP AT CSAC ON THIS. 
          AND SO I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE FROM A BOARD PERSPECTIVE, WE ARE ENGAGED IN THIS CONVERSATION ALSO. AND WE'VE GOT A QUESTION FROM SUPERVISOR [INAUDIBLE]. 
          WE ARE NOT LETTING THE GRASS GROW GREEN WHILE WE WAIT FOR THE OUTCOME. 
          SO I DEFINITELY WANT WHERE WE BRING IT TO THE STATE'S ATTENTION. 
          A LOT OF THE TIME THEY'RE LIKE, OK, OK, OK. 
          BECAUSE I THINK THAT THIS IS A LEARNING PROCESS FOR EVERYBODY. 
          I'M NOT MAKING EXCUSES FOR THE STATE, BUT THANK YOU FOR ADDING TO THAT CO BROWN. 
          SUPERVISOR MCDANIEL? THANKS. 
          I DO SHARE THE SAME FRUSTRATIONS WITH AS MY COLLEAGUE OVER THERE ON THE WEST SIDE. 
          BUT SO IF WE'RE UP HERE ELECTED TO REPRESENT OUR CONSTITUENCY AND WE'RE FRUSTRATED, THINK ABOUT OUR CONSTITUENCY. 
          THAT'S THE BIG THING THERE. 
          THE DISCONNECT THAT WE HAVE WITH THEM. 
          THE GOVERNOR CONTINUES TO MOVE THE GOALPOST, CONTINUES TO MOVE THEM. 
          GUESS WHAT? EVERYBODY'S WEARING MASKS RIGHT NOW IN MERCED COUNTY. 
          EVERYWHERE YOU SHOP, YOU GO TO CHURCH, YOU GO EVERYWHERE. 
          PEOPLE ARE WEARING MASKS. 
          THEY'RE DOING EXACTLY THE DIRECTION THAT WE'VE GIVEN THEM. 
          AND THEN WHEN WE MOVE THE GOALPOSTS ON THEM AGAIN. 
          THEY GET VERY FRUSTRATED. 
          AND I KNOW YOU KNOW THAT I JUST HAVE TO BECAUSE MY BLOOD WHEN SCOTT STARTED TALKING, MY BLOOD STARTED BOILING ALL OVER AGAIN. 
          AND YOU'RE THINKING THAT WE WE'RE GETTING THIS UNDER CONTROL AND WE'RE DOING WHAT WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DOING. AND IT'S YOUR GUY'S LEADERSHIP HERE IN THIS COUNTY THAT'S PUT IT TOGETHER. WE'VE DONE IT AND I'VE SAID IT TO THE GOVERNOR THAT MY HEALTH DEPARTMENT HAS A BETTER CREW THAN WHAT HE HAS AT THE STATE BECAUSE WE GOT TO APPROACH THIS WITH COMMON SENSE, NOT JUST A WHOLE BUNCH OF YES MEN AROUND HIM. 
          AND HE COMES UP WITH AN IDEA. 
          AND BECAUSE HE SAYS IT, THEN EVERYBODY WANTS TO IMPLEMENT IT. 
          SO I APPRECIATE EVERYTHING YOU'RE DOING. 
          BUT THIS MOVING OF THE GOALPOSTS, I'M WITH I'M RIGHT WITH MY WITH MY COLLEAGUE ON THE WEST SIDE. WE'RE NOT MOVING BACK INTO PURPLE. 
          WE NEED TO STAY WHERE WE ARE PEOPLE. 
          THE MANDATES ARE PUT IN PLACE, PROTOCOLS ARE PUT IN PLACE. 
          WE CAN CONTINUE TO MOVE FORWARD. 
          PEOPLE ARE SOCIAL DISTANCING. 
          PEOPLE ARE WEARING MASKS. 
          THEY'RE DOING WHAT THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO DO AND TO BE PENALIZED BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE THE MONEY TO DO MORE TESTING AROUND THE COUNTY THAN WHAT THE OTHER COUNTIES DO IS JUST NOT FAIR AT ALL. 
          I APPRECIATE THE TESTING HE HAS HERE, BUT HE THREATENS TO TAKE IT FROM US BECAUSE WE'RE NOT TESTING ENOUGH. SO THERE'S A DOUBLE EDGED SWORD HERE. 
          I MEAN, FOLKS ARE FRUSTRATED. 
          I'M FRUSTRATED AND I APPRECIATE THE WORK YOU'RE DOING. 
          AND I KNOW YOU'RE THE SOUNDING BOARD. 
          YOU'RE THE SPONGE. YOU GET TO HEAR IT AND RECEIVE IT FROM US. 
          JUST TAKING IT IN. YEAH, BUT IT'S JUST THE SAME THING ALL THE TIME. 
          AND I HATE IT. WE WORK VERY HARD. 
          I MEAN, I'M GOAL ORIENTED. 
          I LOVE SETTING GOALS FOR MYSELF. 
          I'M ALWAYS TRYING TO ACHIEVE. 
          BUT IF I DID THIS TO MYSELF, OH MY GOD, I'D BE LIKE A I DON'T KNOW, CURL UP IN A CORNER 
          [01:00:02]
SOMEWHERE SHAKING BECAUSE THIS IS THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE. 
          BUT AT THE SAME TIME, WE KEEP MOVING FORWARD. 
          BUT I'M TELLING YOU, OUR CONSTITUENTS ARE WEARING MASKS, SOCIAL DISTANCING, DOING WHAT THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO DO, AND THEN WE CONTINUE TO ASK THEM MORE. 
          AT WHAT POINT DO THEY SAY IT'S OVER? THERE'S A LOT OF FOLKS SAYING THAT THE VIRUS IS GOING TO BE GONE TOMORROW AFTER THE ELECTION. SO I JUST THOUGHT I'D THROW THAT OUT THERE, TOO. 
          WE'LL SEE. WE KNOW THAT'S UNTRUE. 
          OK. COUNTY RESIDENTS THAT IS A FABRICATION. 
          THAT IS NOT TRUE. [LAUGHTER] CLARIFY THAT. THANK YOU. 
          AND I'D JUST LIKE TO SAY THAT EVERYONE IS LISTENING. 
          PLEASE TELL YOUR FAMILY MEMBERS,  FRIENDS GO TEST, GO TEST, IT ONLY IT WILL ONLY HELP US, THANK YOU, GO AHEAD. 
          I'LL TURN BACK OVER TO DR. 
          SULLIVAN. 
          OK, SO FRUSTRATION WITH THIS METRIC ASIDE, WHICH IS SHARED, I DO ALSO JUST WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THAT OUR ACTUAL NUMBERS OF ACTUAL CASES ARE INCREASING MORE RAPIDLY THAN WE WOULD LIKE. AGAIN, 300 IN THE LAST EIGHT DAYS, THAT'S THE MOST THE HIGHEST EIGHT DAYS THAT WE'VE HAD SINCE EARLY SEPTEMBER OR LATE AUGUST. 
          SO, YOU KNOW, AS WE MOVE INTO THE HOLIDAY SEASON, WE'RE GOING TO SEE THAT GO UP MORE. 
          AND SO CONTINUING TO HAVE THE MESSAGING AROUND WHERE WE'VE TIED SOME OF THESE BACK ARE WE DO HAVE A COUPLE OF OUTBREAKS AT WORKPLACES, BUT ALSO WE'RE SEEING AN INCREASE IN FAMILY GATHERINGS, AS WE KIND OF EXPECTED. 
          SO WE'VE HAD QUITE A FEW TIED TO FUNERALS AND TO OTHER TYPES OF GATHERINGS AS WELL. 
          SO JUST MAKING SURE THAT PEOPLE YOU KNOW, IT'S A TWO PRONGED APPROACH. 
          WE ARE ABSOLUTELY ADDRESSING THIS WITH THE STATE BECAUSE WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE BEING JUDGED FAIRLY AND WE HAVE A REAL INCREASE IN THAT. 
          THAT IS BEING MAINLY LINKED TO PEOPLE LETTING THEIR GUARD DOWN AND CONTINUING TO GATHER AND HAVE LARGER EVENTS. 
          SO THE IMPLICATIONS OF THIS HAVE ALREADY BEEN DISCUSSED A BIT. 
          BUT STAYING IN THE REDS HERE, MOVING AND MOVING FORWARD EVENTUALLY INTO THE ORANGE TIER ARE HIGHLY DEPENDENT ON ROBUST SURVEILLANCE TESTING. 
          SO THIS IS A QUESTION THAT WE GET A LOT. 
          WHY SHOULD I GO GET TESTED WHEN I FEEL HEALTHY? AND THE REASON IS, IS THAT WE'RE MOVING FROM WHERE WE WERE, WHICH WAS, YOU KNOW, ESSENTIALLY JUST A STOPGAP TRYING TO PUT OUT FIRES. 
          WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY TESTING. 
          YOU KNOW, WE HAD SO MANY CASES. 
          THAT WAS WHAT WE CALL RESPONSE TESTING, WHERE WE WERE JUST TESTING PEOPLE WHO WERE ILL OR HAD AN EXPOSURE. AS OUR CASES GET LOWER AND OUR TESTING RESOURCES INCREASE, WE CAN MOVE INTO SURVEILLANCE TESTING, WHICH IS REGULAR TESTING WHEN YOU HAVE NO SYMPTOMS AND KNOWN EXPOSURES. THE BENEFIT OF THIS IS THAT WE DO KNOW THAT COVID-19 IN OUR COMMUNITY HAS A LOT OF ASYMPTOMATIC OR WHAT WE CALL PRE SYMPTOMATIC. 
          SO IT WAS THAT SCRATCHY THROAT ALLERGIES OR COVID KIND OF THING, VERY MILDLY SYMPTOMATIC INDIVIDUALS WHO WHO THEN CAN SPREAD WITHOUT KNOWING THAT THEY HAVE COVID. 
          SO THAT'S WHAT SURVEILLANCE TESTING DOES, IS IT ALLOWS US TO REALLY GET A GOOD UNDERSTANDING OF THE DISEASE SPREAD WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY AND ALSO ISOLATE CASES WHO MAY NOT KNOW THAT THEY HAVE IT BEFORE THEY CAN SPREAD. 
          ONE REALLY KEY POINT THAT I THINK HAS BEEN MAYBE THE QUESTION WE'VE BEEN ASKED THE MOST IN THE LAST TWO WEEKS IS THAT YOU DO NOT HAVE TO ISOLATE PENDING TEST RESULTS WHEN YOU'RE TESTING FOR SURVEILLANCE TESTING. 
          SO IF YOU GO IN AND YOU ARE SYMPTOMATIC AND YOU GET A TEST, THE DOCTOR TELLS YOU, GO HOME AND STAY HOME UNTIL YOU GET YOUR TEST RESULTS BACK. 
          FOR SURVEILLANCE TESTING. 
          THAT'S NOT THE RULE. 
          SO I'VE MENTIONED THIS BEFORE, BUT I GO EVERY TWO WEEKS. 
          IT'S JUST PART OF MY REGULAR ROUTINE. 
          I GO OVER TO THE THE OPTUMSERVE TEST SITE IN AND OUT IN THREE MINUTES. 
          IT'S REALLY IT'S NOT INVASIVE ANYMORE. 
          SO THAT JUST ESTABLISHING SURVEILLANCE TESTING AS PART OF A ROUTINE, AND PARTICULARLY IF YOU'RE AN INDIVIDUAL WHO'S OUT IN THE COMMUNITY A LOT IS GOING TO BE SO IMPORTANT FOR US AND MOVING FORWARD AS TO STAY IN THE TIER WE'RE IN AND ALSO MOVE FORWARD. 
          OK, SO I DID ALLUDE TO THESE A LITTLE BIT BEFORE, BUT ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHANGES THAT THE STATE MADE, AND THIS WAS BASED ON THE FACT THAT THE BLUEPRINT ASSIGNMENTS ARE BASED ON HISTORIC DATA, AGAIN, WE'RE BENEFITING FROM THAT RIGHT NOW. 
          BUT IT DID HURT US WHEN WE WERE LOOKING AT PURPLE A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO. 
          IS THAT THE STATE WILL LOOK AT MORE RECENT DATA THAN WHAT THEY'RE USING TO ASSIGN TIERS. 
          AND IF YOU CAN SHOW OBJECTIVE IMPROVEMENT THAT YOUR CASES ARE GOING BACK DOWN, THAT YOU'RE TESTING POSITIVITY RATE REMAINS LOW AND THAT YOUR TESTING IS INCREASING, THEY WILL TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION FOR ALLOWING YOU TO REMAIN IN THIS TIER THAT YOU ARE IN. 
          [01:05:01]
SO, AS I MENTIONED, RIGHT NOW WE'RE IN WE'RE SOLIDLY IN PURPLE IN TERMS OF OUR CASE NUMBERS. SO IF WE BY AND THAT WILL HIT. 
          SO PROBABLY IN A COUPLE OF WEEKS WE'LL BE LOOKING AT THE PURPLE TIER OFFICIALLY FROM THE STATE. BUT IF WE CAN SHOW IN THE INTERIM THAT OUR CASES HAVE GONE DOWN AND THAT OUR TESTING HAS GONE UP AND THAT OUR TEST POSITIVITY RATE REMAINS LOW, THAT IS ALL DATA THAT WE CAN USE TO SAY, KEEP US IN RED, DON'T PUNT US BACK AND FORTH. 
          AND THEN THE STATE IS ALSO WORKING ON MAKING THAT DATA, THE MORE RECENT DATA PUBLIC. 
          THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I THINK CAUSES A LOT OF CONFUSION WITH THE COMMUNITY, IS THAT THE STATE DATA IS SO LAGGED THAT IT DOESN'T ALWAYS MATCH WHAT WE'RE SEEING HERE LOCALLY. 
          SO, FOR EXAMPLE, IN THE LAST WEEK, WE'VE SEEN OUR CASES, YOU KNOW, JUMP UP WITH THE 40 DAY, 40 A DAY AND THEN 51 ON FRIDAY AND THEN OUR TEST POSITIVITY RATE IS STILL LOW, BECAUSE THAT'S THE STATE'S METRIC, IT'S A STATE BLUEPRINT METRIC, AND SO THEY'RE LIKE THAT DOESN'T REALLY MATCH. 
          AND THAT'S BECAUSE OUR DATA IS MUCH MORE RECENT. 
          AND SO YOU CAN LOOK TO OUR DATA THAT WE'RE POSTING ON OUR DASHBOARD AS WHAT'S TO COME IN THE STATE'S DATA IN ABOUT TWO WEEKS. 
          AND SO THE STATE IS WORKING ON MAKING MORE RECENT, ON CALCULATING, MORE RECENT DATA AND MAKING THAT PUBLIC. BUT FOR RIGHT NOW, THERE IS A BIT OF A DISCONNECT BETWEEN WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW IN THE COMMUNITY VERSUS WHAT THE STATE IS LOOKING AT FOR TIER ASSIGNMENT. 
          SO I DID WANT TO ALSO TOUCH ON SCHOOL REOPENING. 
          TO YOUR POINT, SUPERVISOR SILVEIRA, ABOUT KIDS GOING BACK TO SCHOOL AND THEN NOT COMING BACK AND THEN HAVING TO GO BACK HOME. 
          SO SCHOOLS CURRENTLY IN MERCED COUNTY ARE ELIGIBLE TO REOPEN UNDER THE CDPH REOPENING FRAMEWORK, THE FIRST DAY OF ELIGIBILITY FOR SCHOOLS TO REOPEN FOR IN-PERSON LEARNING FOLLOWING A VERY ROBUST SET OF GUIDELINES, SOCIAL DISTANCING, COHORTING, MASKING. 
          IT'S NOT JUST OPENING WILLY NILLY. 
          IF YOU GO INTO ANY SCHOOL IN OUR COMMUNITY, YOU WILL SEE IT DOES NOT LOOK ANYTHING LIKE IT DID LAST YEAR. 
          THE SCHOOLS THAT ARE REOPENING ARE DOING SO UNDER VERY STRICT SAFETY METRICS. 
          AND THE REOPENING PLANS VARY BY DISTRICT. 
          SO SCHOOL, WHETHER OR NOT A SCHOOL AT THIS TIME IS OPEN OR NOT, IS DEPENDENT UPON THAT SCHOOL AND DISTRICT AND THE SCHOOL BOARD'S DECISION. 
          SO WE HAVE SOME SCHOOLS THAT ARE REOPENED, SOME SCHOOLS THAT ARE REOPENING AND SOME SCHOOLS THAT ARE WAITING UNTIL JANUARY. 
          AT THIS POINT, THAT DECISION LIES AT THE SCHOOL JURISDICTION. 
          WE ARE VERY MUCH IN CLOSE CONTACT, REGULAR CLOSE CONTACT WITH ALL OF THE SUPERINTENDENTS AND ADVISING THEM AND HELPING THEM WITH THEIR REOPENING PLANS, AS WELL AS HEARING ABOUT ANY CASES THAT THEY HAVE ON THEIR CAMPUSES. 
          I DO WANT TO SPEAK TO THE PUBLIC COMMENT EARLIER. 
          WE REPORT ALL OUTBREAKS IN THIS COMMUNITY ON OUR DASHBOARD. 
          WE ARE VERY TRANSPARENT WITH OUTBREAKS IN THE COMMUNITY THAT WILL EXTEND TO SCHOOLS. 
          IT ALREADY HAS. WE'VE HAD TWO OUTBREAKS SO FAR IN SCHOOL DISTRICT OFFICES. 
          IF WE WERE TO HAVE AN OUTBREAK IN A SCHOOL, IT WOULD BE REPORTED TO THE COMMUNITY AND WE DO VALUE THAT TRANSPARENCY. 
          SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE THAT VERY CLEAR AS WELL. 
          SO FOR OUR SCHOOLS THAT ARE OPENING RIGHT NOW, THEY CAN REMAIN OPEN AND KEEP REOPENING EVEN IF WE MOVE BACK INTO PURPLE. 
          SO THAT'S A REALLY IMPORTANT CAVEAT BECAUSE SCHOOLS ARE MORE. 
          BUT THESE JUST HUGE [INAUDIBLE], YOU KNOW, BEASTS, THEY'RE NOT EXPECTED TO TURN ON A DIME LIKE THAT. AND SO IF THEY ARE OPEN, THEN THEY CAN CONTINUE TO REOPEN AND THEIR CLOSURE BECOMES DEPENDENT UPON CASES WITHIN THE SCHOOL ITSELF. 
          SO IT'S A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT SET OF CLOSURE CRITERIA FOR SCHOOLS. 
          NOW, SCHOOLS THAT DO NOT OPEN WHILE WE ARE ON THE ON THE RED TIER. 
          SO IF A SCHOOL IS CHOOSING, FOR EXAMPLE, TO WAIT UNTIL NEXT SEMESTER TO REOPEN AND THEN AT THAT TIME WE ARE IN PURPLE, THAT SCHOOL WOULD NOT BE ELIGIBLE TO REOPEN AS UNLESS THEY GET A WAIVER OR THEY OPEN OTHER COHORTS OR SOME OF THE OTHER THINGS, BUT THEY WOULD NOT BE ELIGIBLE FOR FULL REOPENING IF WE ARE BACK ON PURPLE. 
          AND SO THEN I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO DR. 
          SANDOVAL FOR A COUPLE OF COMMENTS ON OUR SCHOOLS AS WELL. 
          GOOD MORNING. MY NAME IS DR. 
          SANDOVAL AND I'M THE HEALTH OFFICER FROM MERCED COUNTY. 
          I WANTED TO STATE THAT AS A HEALTH DEPARTMENT, WE'VE BEEN IN REGULAR COMMUNICATION WITH THE SCHOOLS, THE SUPERINTENDENTS IN PARTICULAR, ON A WEEKLY BASIS. 
          I'VE ALSO TALKED TO SOME OF THE TEACHERS AT THIS POINT. 
          I THINK THEY'RE STILL GOING THROUGH NEGOTIATIONS IN MANY OF THE SCHOOLS. 
          WE ARE AS A HEALTH DEPARTMENT ARE WEIGHING THE BENEFITS AND 
          [01:10:08]
RISKS. WE'RE IN FAVOR OF THE SCHOOLS OPENING. 
          I WANTED TO POINT OUT THAT THERE HAD BEEN SCHOOLS THAT OPENED EVEN WHEN WE WERE IN THE PURPLE WITH THE WAIVERS. 
          AND THESE WERE PRIMARILY SCHOOLS THAT WERE SMALLER SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND THAT HAD LOW CASE RATES. AND WE HAVE BEEN IN OUR TALKS WITH THESE SCHOOL DISTRICTS WHERE WE'VE BEEN ENCOURAGING THEM TO GO SLOW AND CAUTIOUSLY IN TERMS OF OPENING. 
          AND THEY'VE BEEN TAKING THAT ADVICE. 
          I WANTED TO POINT OUT THAT WE'RE IN A VERY UNPRECEDENTED SITUATION AS A COUNTRY, REALLY THE WHOLE WORLD. BUT WE'RE GOING THROUGH NATIONAL ELECTIONS AT THIS POINT. 
          THERE ARE MANY CONTENTIOUS ISSUES AND MANY HOT EMOTIONS ON BOTH SIDES IN TERMS OF THE SCHOOLS OPENING, PEOPLE DEMANDING THE SCHOOLS BE OPENED AS IF EVERYTHING WERE NORMAL, AND THEN PEOPLE DEMANDING THE SCHOOLS STAY CLOSED BECAUSE THERE'S TOO MUCH RISK. 
          AND WE HAVE TO WEIGH AS A SOCIETY, THERE'S NOTHING FORGIVEN. 
          WE HAVE TO WEIGH BENEFITS AND RISKS. 
          WE'VE HAD OUR SCHOOLS CLOSED SINCE MARCH OF THIS YEAR AND THERE ARE CONSEQUENCES OF SCHOOLS BEING CLOSED. 
          THE BENEFIT IS, IS AT THAT POINT, WE DIDN'T KNOW. 
          THE CHILDREN, FOR EXAMPLE, HAVE LESS OF A RISK OF GETTING AS ILL AS ADULTS. 
          NOW, WE KNOW MORE THAN WHAT WE KNEW BACK THEN, BUT WE ALSO SAW RISKS. 
          FOR EXAMPLE, SUICIDE RISKS IN WERE REPORTED IN FRESNO AS SUCCESSFUL AND ATTEMPTED SUICIDE RISK. THERE ARE MANY THINGS THAT HAVE TO BE CONSIDERED IN TERMS OF DOING THIS. 
          IN NATIONALLY, WE'VE SEEN IT WAS POINTED OUT WE HAVE SEVERAL STATES THAT ARE HAVING OUTBREAKS. WE'VE BEEN VERY FORTUNATE AT THIS POINT. 
          AND IN EUROPE, THEY'VE HAD MANY CASES THEY'VE HAD TO ROLL BACK. 
          WELL, WE HAVE TO DO, I THINK AS A SOCIETY IS REALLY WEIGH OUR BENEFITS AND OUR RISKS AND WE HAVE TO BE GUIDED BY FACTS AND WE HAVE TO BE GUIDED BY SCIENCE AND WE HAVE TO BE GUIDED BY SPEAKING TO EACH OTHERS AND NOT JUST PAST EACH OTHER, WHO UNFORTUNATELY, A LOT OF THAT'S BEEN HAPPENING. 
          AND PEOPLE OFTENTIMES GET MIXED MESSAGES AND AND MAKE THE WRONG DECISIONS BASED ON THAT. 
          AT THIS POINT, THE PARENTS HAVE THE OPTION OF VIRTUAL VERSUS IN CLASS FOR THEIR CHILDREN AND IN THE NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS. 
          AND THOSE ARE ISSUES THAT HAVE TO BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT BECAUSE AS WE KNOW NOW, ADULTS DO HAVE MORE RISKS THAN CHILDREN. 
          SO TEACHERS AND STAFF, I THINK, HAVE TO BE PROTECTED. 
          AND THAT'S WHY THE MEASURES THAT KRISTYNN HAS BEEN TALKING ABOUT HAVE BEEN IMPLEMENTED, THE COHERING, SOCIAL DISTANCING, MASKING, THE STRICT HYGIENE. 
          AND WE'VE BEEN ENCOURAGING TESTING. 
          WE'RE NOT ENCOURAGING. 
          UNFORTUNATELY, AS I MENTIONED, SOMETIMES PEOPLE GET VERY EMOTIONAL AND SOME PEOPLE CALL IT DOPING THE SYSTEM. 
          THAT'S WRONG. 
          AS KRISTYNN POINTED OUT, THERE ARE MANY ASYMPTOMATIC PEOPLE AND THOSE ARE THE ONES THAT WE WANT TO FIND OUT ABOUT SO THAT THEY DON'T SPREAD THE DISEASE. 
          SO AT THIS POINT, WE WANT TO OPEN IN A SAFE MANNER. 
          I THINK THE PARENTS AND THE TEACHERS HAVE OPTIONS. 
          THE VIRTUAL AND ALSO THE IN-PERSON CLASSES, I THINK ARE SOMETHING TO REALLY CONSIDER SERIOUSLY. 
          THE REASON I ENCOURAGE THIS HYBRID TYPE OF APPROACH IS THAT IT DECREASES THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS THAT ARE IN THE CLASSES AND THAT ALLOWS SOCIAL DISTANCING TO OCCUR IN A BETTER WAY. I THINK IT DOES NO GOOD IN THE COMMUNITY FOR PEOPLE ON SOCIAL MEDIA TO BE MAKING ACCUSATIONS THAT THERE IS NO TRANSPARENCY BECAUSE THAT IT IS 
          [01:15:05]
NOT CONSTRUCTIVE. 
          AND ACTUALLY IT STARTS TO DETRACT FROM THE PEOPLE THAT ARE MAKING THESE TYPES OF ACCUSATIONS BECAUSE THEN PEOPLE START WONDERING ABOUT THEIR LEGITIMACY TOO. 
          BUT I THINK, AS I MENTIONED, WE ENCOURAGE WE'RE IN SUPPORT OF THE SCHOOLS OPENING ON A CONSCIOUS BASIS. 
          WE WANT TO ENCOURAGE WE'VE BEEN ENCOURAGING THE TEACHERS AND STAFF AT THE SCHOOLS TO GET TESTED. AND I THINK IN THE DECISION MAKING THAT'S MADE IN THE NEGOTIATIONS, I THINK THOSE THINGS NEED TO BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT. 
          FOR EXAMPLE, ONE TEACHER, I THINK HER HUSBAND AND FAMILY MEMBER ARE CANCER SURVIVORS ON AND I DISCOURAGE HER. 
          I TOLD HER I THINK IT'S BETTER THAT YOU DO VIRTUAL TEACHING IN THAT SITUATION, BUT WE HAVE TO APPROACH THIS IN A RATIONAL MANNER. 
          AND AS THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT, WE'RE GOING TO BE MONITORING VERY CAREFULLY WHAT OCCURS. 
          PEOPLE THAT HAVE AS AS DR. 
          NANYONJO MENTIONED, WE'RE THE SPONGE. 
          PEOPLE THAT MAY NOT AGREE WITH US. 
          I THINK WE'LL LISTEN TO THEM. 
          AND WE WANT TO MAKE THE BEST DECISION FOR THE HEALTH OF MERCED COUNTY AND FOR THE FUTURE OF OUR CHILDREN AND THE RESIDENTS OF THE COUNTY. 
          THANK YOU. I THINK SUPERVISOR SILVEIRA HAD A COMMENT. 
          AND IT IS JUST ANOTHER COMMENT IS, IS I DON'T WANT TO BE MISUNDERSTOOD. 
          IT IS I THINK THAT OUR LEADERSHIP IN THIS COUNTY, WHEN I SAY OURS, I MEAN OUR PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT'S LEADERSHIP HAS BEEN DOING THE RIGHT THINGS AND MAKING DECISIONS BASED ON FACTS, NOT MISINFORMATION. 
          WHERE MY FRUSTRATION LIES IS THE STATE JUST THROWS CRAP AT THE WALL AND THEN YOU GUYS GOT TO FIGURE IT ALL OUT. AND SO THEY'RE DECISIONS THAT THEY MAKE ARE NOT ALWAYS WITH THE RIGHT FACTS. IT MIGHT BE THEIR VERSION OF THE FACTS. 
          I WON'T TAKE THAT AWAY FROM THEM. 
          BUT WHAT I'M SAYING IS IF YOU GUYS YOU AS THE PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICER FOR MERCED COUNTY AND DR. NANYONJO IS THE PUBLIC HEALTH DIRECTOR AND DR. 
          SULLIVAN IS THE HEAD EPIDEMIOLOGIST AND WHATEVER OTHER TITLES THAT YOU HAVE AS PART OF YOUR JOB, NOW TELL US TELL ME, HEY, WE NEED TO GO INTO WE NEED TO GET MORE RESTRICTIVE. 
          I BELIEVE YOU, BECAUSE I KNOW THAT YOU GUYS ARE DOING IT BASED UPON THE FACTS AND WHAT YOU'RE ACTUALLY SEEING ON THE GROUND. 
          WHERE I HAVE THE ISSUE IS, IS WITH THE STATE COMING UP WITH ALL THESE CRAZY PARAMETERS THAT DICTATES WHETHER WE'RE GOING TO STAY SOMEWHERE OR NOT GO SOMEWHERE OR DO SOMETHING ELSE WHEN THEY'RE NOT LIVING IT EVERY DAY ON THE GROUND. 
          SO I'M ALL ABOUT GIVING PEOPLE CHOICES. 
          I THINK THAT YOUR APPROACH TO OPENING UP THE SCHOOLS, I THINK THAT IT'S IT'S OK TO OPEN IF WE'RE IN THE RED ZONE AND STAY THERE. 
          BUT IF WE'RE IN THE PURPLE, YOU CAN I THINK THAT'S KIND OF CRAZY, BUT WHATEVER. 
          BUT GIVING PEOPLE CHOICES, ULTIMATELY, I WOULD GIVE THAT PERSON THAT YOU TALKED TO AND I'M NOT A DOCTOR THE SAME ADVICE. 
          YOU HAVE A PREEXISTING HEALTH CONDITION AND YOU'RE A TEACHER. 
          THE DISTRICT NEEDS TO MAKE SOME KIND OF CONCESSIONS IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO HELP YOU SO THAT WE'RE NOT POTENTIALLY EXPOSING YOU TO A LOT OF LITTLE ONES AND FAMILIES AND ALL THAT. I GET ALL THAT PART. 
          AND I DON'T WANT THAT TO BE MISCONSTRUED AS TO WHAT MY THOUGHTS ARE HERE. 
          MY THOUGHTS ARE, IS JUST THE FRUSTRATION THAT THEY GET TO SIT THERE ON ONE HAND AND WANT TO TALK ABOUT REALLY PUTTING THE ONUS ON THE LOCALS, THE LOCAL HEALTH OFFICERS TO MAKE THESE DECISIONS. BUT IN REALITY, THEY'RE MAKING DECISIONS ABOVE YOU THAT YOU GUYS ALL GOT TO LIVE WITH. AND SO, AGAIN, I KNOW THAT DR. 
          NANYONJO IS PRETTY WELL RESPECTED IN SACRAMENTO AND IT'S BECAUSE SHE'S DELIVERED ON THE THINGS THAT SHE SAID SHE'S GOING TO DELIVER ON. 
          AND THERE'S A RESPECT THERE. 
          BUT IT'S IT STILL IS JUST FRUSTRATING WHEN YOU HAVE THIS OUTSIDE THIRD PARTY MAKING DICTATIONS TO US ON WHEN WE CAN DO THIS AND CAN'T DO THAT. 
          AND IT'S NOT IT'S I MEAN, IT'S NOT SPECIFIC ENOUGH FOR ME. 
          TELL ME WHAT WE'VE GOT TO DO. 
          IF WE'RE SAYING THAT WE NEED TO DO MORE TESTING, I'LL BE YOUR BIGGEST. 
          I WILL. I WILL. I'VE TALKED TO PEOPLE. 
          I'M NOT SICK. WHY DO I NEED TO TEST? WELL, THAT'S WE GET WE'VE GOT TO BE WITHIN A CERTAIN RANGE. 
          GIVE ME A RANGE SO THAT WE CAN TELL THEM, LIKE IF WE NEED TO DO FOUR HUNDRED TESTS TODAY IN MERCED COUNTY TO KIND OF KEEP US WHERE WE NEED TO BE, IT TELLS US THE SURVEILLANCE INFORMATION THAT WE NEED TO KNOW ALL THOSE GOOD THINGS. 
          I'LL HELP YOU GET THERE. BUT IF IT'S FOUR HUNDRED A DAY IN THE NEXT MONTH, BECAUSE SOME OTHER RICH COUNTY SENT ALL OF THEIR COUNTY EMPLOYEES AND HAVE A LOT MORE PLACES TO GO, GET TESTED, SEND THE COLLEGE KIDS TO GO GET TESTED, AND NOW ALL OF A SUDDEN IT CHANGES TO FIVE HUNDRED. WE'RE CONSTANTLY BEING DISADVANTAGED. 
          [01:20:02]
AND IT JUST GETS FRUSTRATING. 
          IT JUST GETS FRUSTRATING BECAUSE IT'S I THINK DARREN SAID THIS BEFORE. 
          IT'S IT'S LIKE WE'RE ALWAYS LIKE ONE OF THE FIRST ONES TO GET HIT AND ONE OF THE LAST ONES TO RECOVER. 
          AND I'M JUST TIRED OF IT. 
          AND AGAIN, A STATE THAT SITS THERE AND TALKS ABOUT EQUITY AND WANTING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE DOING EVERYTHING FAIR AND EQUAL FOR EVERYBODY. 
          THEY CAN'T HAVE THEIR CAKE AND EAT IT BECAUSE THEY SIT THERE AND TALK ABOUT IT, BUT THEY DON'T DELIVER ON IT. AND WE HAVE VERY CLEAR CUT REASONS SHOWN ON PAPER AS TO WHY THEY'RE PUTTING US AT A DISADVANTAGE AND WE CONTINUE TO ALLOW THEM TO GET AWAY WITH IT. 
          AND I JUST THINK IT'S WRONG. 
          THANK YOU. I FEEL YOUR FRUSTRATION SUPERVISOR SILVEIRA. 
          I THINK, AS I MENTIONED, WE'RE IN AN UNPRECEDENTED SITUATION AND EVEN THE STATE IS LEARNING. I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS WE WHEN WE WHEN THE GOVERNOR GAVE THE SHELTER IN PLACE ORDER IN MARCH, HE DID THE RIGHT THING REALLY. 
          WE AVOIDED THE BRUNT OF WHAT HAPPENED IN NEW YORK AND OTHER PLACES, UNFORTUNATELY, WHERE IT'S A LEARNING PROCESS. 
          AND I THINK AS THE AS THE BUSINESSES, FOR EXAMPLE, STARTED TO OPEN, IT WASN'T LINKED TO MASKS. I THINK IF THE GOVERNOR OR AT THE STATE LEVEL, IF THEY HAD SAID YOU CAN OPEN YOUR BUSINESSES CONDITIONAL ON DISTANCING, HYGIENE, MASKS, BECAUSE WE HAD WE HAD THE SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE THERE BACK THEN, IT TOOK A LOT OF HURT IN MANY DIFFERENT LEVELS BEFORE WE CAME TO THAT REALIZATION THAT WE REALLY NEED TO TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY. 
          THAT IS NOT A MADE UP DISEASE. 
          BUT AS I MENTIONED, THE IT'S A IT'S A LEARNING PROCESS. 
          WE'RE IN TOUCH WITH THE STATE. 
          THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE THAT I HIGHLY RESPECT AT THE STATE LEVEL WHERE THEY'VE HELPED US THROUGH SOME DIFFICULT SITUATIONS HERE IN THE COUNTY WITH OUTBREAKS. 
          AND I THINK WE'LL HAVE TO JUST CONTINUE TO WORK AS BEST WE CAN WITH THE SITUATION. 
          I HAVE A COMMENT BY SUPERVISOR LOR. THANK YOU. 
          I WANTED TO TOUCH ON THE TRANSPARENCY PIECE. 
          THE MERCED COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT AND STAFF HAVE DONE A WONDERFUL JOB INCREASING TRANSPARENCY. AND I SAY THAT BECAUSE ANY FEEDBACK THAT WE RECEIVE FROM CONSTITUENTS AND WE PASS ON TO PUBLIC HEALTH, YOU HAVE PIVOTED AND YOU HAVE MODIFIED. 
          AND THE DASHBOARD IS A PERFECT, PERFECT EXAMPLE, AS WELL AS A PREVIOUS SLIDE OF INFORMATION REQUESTED BY SUPERVISOR PAREIRA. 
          AND SO WHEN IT COMES TO TRANSPARENCY, THE PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT HAS DONE THEIR BEST TO ENSURE THAT MERCED COUNTY INCREASES THE TRANSPARENCY. 
          AND I WANT TO REMIND FOLKS THAT IN ANY SITUATION, WHETHER YOU BE THE RECIPIENT OF INFORMATION OR YOU BE THE PRESENTER OF INFORMATION, WHEN IT COMES TO TRANSPARENCY, IT'S ALL IN HOW THE RECEIVER RECEIVES IT, UNDERSTANDS IT AND INTERPRETS IT. 
          SO JUST BECAUSE YOU HAVE THE INFORMATION AND YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND IT DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE PRESENTER IS LACKING TRANSPARENCY. 
          AND I WOULD REMIND FOLKS THAT IF YOU WOULD LIKE MORE INFORMATION OR A DIFFERENT INTERPRETATION OF THAT INFORMATION, LET ME KNOW. 
          JUST BECAUSE YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND IT OR WE'RE SPEAKING IN A LANGUAGE THAT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND DOESN'T MEAN THAT THAT WE LACK TRANSPARENCY. 
          IT COULD BE THAT WE DON'T KNOW THAT WE'RE SPEAKING IN A WAY THAT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND. 
          AND SO IF WE DON'T GET FEEDBACK IN HOW WE CAN CHANGE THE WAY WE PRESENT STUFF, THEN WE ARE GOING TO CONTINUE THE WAY WE ARE. 
          AND SO I WANT TO THANK OUR PUBLIC HEALTH STAFF FOR MODIFYING FOR INCREASING TRANSPARENCY THROUGHOUT THIS PROCESS, BECAUSE SHARING INFORMATION CAN EASILY BE MISUNDERSTOOD AND MISTRANSLATED AND THEN MISCOMMUNICATED TO THE NEXT PERSON. 
          I MEAN, I ALWAYS THINK BACK ON THE TELEPHONE GAME WE PLAYED AS A LITTLE CHILD. 
          YOU START WITH ONE MESSAGE AND AT THE END IT'S A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT MESSAGE. 
          SO I JUST WANT TO REMIND FOLKS TO KEEP THAT IN MIND AND THINK PUBLIC HEALTH STAFF AGAIN FOR INCREASING TRANSPARENCY THROUGHOUT THIS. 
          THANK YOU. THANK YOU, SUPERVISOR LOR. 
          THANK YOU. OK, WE'RE DONE WITH. 
          THANK YOU. GO AHEAD. 
          ONE MORE SLIDE. OK. 
          I THOUGHT YOU WERE DONE. NO, NO. 
          SO THANK YOU SO MUCH, DR. 
          SANDOVAL. WE'VE BEEN WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH THE SCHOOLS TO HAVE THEM BE ABLE TO REOPEN TO THE LEVEL AT WHICH THEY'RE COMFORTABLE AS QUICKLY AS IS SAFE. 
          SO WE APPRECIATE THAT. 
          AND THANK YOU ALSO FOR YOUR COMMENTS SUPERVISOR LOR. 
          WE ARE WE ARE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR WAYS TO MAKE THE DATA, WHICH IS SO MUCH, SO MUCH VOLUME, 
          [01:25:05]
MORE UNDERSTANDABLE AND USABLE. 
          AND SO THAT IS A CONTINUAL GOAL OF OUR STAFF. 
          SO THANK YOU. SO ONE LAST THING THAT I HINTED ON AS TO WHAT WE'RE SEEING IN TERMS OF OUR CASES INCREASING, IT HAS BEEN LARGELY TIED TO PEOPLE GATHERING. 
          WE'RE ENTERING INTO THE COLD SEASON. 
          WE'RE ENTERING INTO THE HOLIDAY SEASON. 
          PEOPLE WILL BE GATHERING MORE. 
          SO WE ARE, AGAIN, JUST WANTING AND ASKING THAT PEOPLE REALLY LIMIT THEIR GATHERING. 
          AND ALSO, IF YOU ARE GOING TO GATHER, MAKE SURE THAT YOU ARE BEING AS SAFE AS POSSIBLE. 
          SO KEEPING THE GROUP SMALL, LIMITING THE NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLDS THAT ARE COMING TOGETHER, TRYING TO KEEP SPACED OUT AND SOCIALLY DISTANT, EVEN WHEN YOU'RE GATHERING, IF POSSIBLE, WHILE CERTAINLY WHILE THE WEATHER PERMITS KEEPING GATHERINGS OUTSIDE RATHER THAN INDOORS, LIMITING THE AMOUNT OF TIME. 
          SO IT'S BETTER TO HAVE A ONE HOUR GATHERING THAN A 10 HOUR GATHERING IN TERMS OF COVID TRANSMISSION, WEARING YOUR MASKS IF POSSIBLE, PARTICULARLY IF IT'S MULTIPLE HOUSEHOLDS COMING TOGETHER, TEST PRIOR TO THE GATHERINGS. 
          THAT'S NOT THAT KIND OF A TWOFER ALLOWS US TO GET OUR TESTING NUMBERS UP AND ALSO MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE NOT UNWITTINGLY BRINGING SOMEONE, SOMETHING INTO A GATHERING. 
          WE CONTINUE TO HEAR OF PEOPLE WHO THINK THAT THEIR SYMPTOMS ARE NOT COVID AND THEN THEY GO TO A GATHERING ANYWAY. 
          AND THEN A LOT OF PEOPLE GET SICK, PARTICULARLY FOR GATHERINGS THAT ARE REALLY IMPORTANT. 
          SO, FOR EXAMPLE, A FUNERAL AND I DO UNDERSTAND THAT THERE IS A LOT OF DESIRE AND IMPETUS TO WANT TO ATTEND THAT FUNERAL OR THAT WEDDING OR THAT BIG EVENT. 
          BUT IF YOU ARE ILL, IF IT IS A SYMPTOM, THAT COULD BE SOMETHING ELSE. 
          PLEASE DO NOT GO TO THE GATHERING WITH THOSE SYMPTOMS, BECAUSE THEN THAT IS HOW WE ARE SEEING TIME AND TIME AGAIN THAT PEOPLE ARE GETTING REALLY ILL. 
          AND THAT WILL CONCLUDE OUR PRESENTATION FOR TODAY. 
          ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS? OH, ONE MORE. SUPERVISOR PAREIRA? YES. THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. 
          A COUPLE OF I DON'T KNOW, I GUESS I, I AS WELL AS SOME OF MY COLLEAGUES FEEL THE FRUSTRATION. AND SO THE PUBLIC, GENERALLY SPEAKING, AT LEAST MY CONSTITUENTS DON'T SEE THE SEVERITY OF COVID-19. 
          YOU KNOW, IF YOU COMPARE IT TO H1N1, THEY THINK THIS IS LESS SEVERE BY FAR. 
          AND SO, YOU KNOW, AND THEY'RE LIKE, WELL, WE LIVE NORMALLY THROUGH THAT. 
          SO WHY ARE WE NEEDING TO SHUT DOWN SO HEAVILY? AND SO I WOULD LIKE TO SEE US MAYBE AT THE NEXT UPDATE TO TALK MORE ABOUT THE EPIDEMIOLOGY OF THE DISEASE OR THE VIRUS VERSUS WHAT THE TIERS IN THE STATE. 
          I MEAN, WE SPENT A SEVERE AMOUNT OF TIME AND I DON'T THINK WE ADVANCED MUCH. 
          WE'RE IF WE IF WE START EDUCATING THE PUBLIC ON THE SPECIFICS, THAT MAYBE WE'LL ENGAGE THEM BETTER AND GET THEM TO CHANGE THEIR BEHAVIOR. 
          I THINK, YOU KNOW, I UP HERE A MONTH AGO. 
          I YOU KNOW, YOU ASKED US TO GET MORE PEOPLE TO TEST. 
          AND SO I SPENT QUITE A BIT OF MY TIME AND ENERGY ON DOING THAT, BOTH ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND PRIVATELY. AND, YOU KNOW, AND PEOPLE LIKE, WELL, WHY SHOULD I TEST? RIGHT? IN FACT, I GOT RIDICULED BY SOME GROUPS. 
          AND IF WE'RE AT LESS THAN THREE PEOPLE PER HUNDRED, TEST POSITIVE. 
          RIGHT. IT IT'S I KNOW IT'S LIKE TELLING PEOPLE I KNOW YOU'RE HEALTHY, BUT GO TO THE DOCTOR ANYWAYS, RIGHT. 
          JUST IN MOST PEOPLE'S MINDS, IT DOESN'T IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE THAT THEM GOING TO GET TESTED OTHER THAN MEETING A STATE CRITERIA THAT THERE'S REALLY ANY BENEFIT TO IT. 
          IT SEEMS TO ME IF WE WERE FOCUSED ON THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE GOING TO THE HOSPITAL, THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT WERE SYMPTOMATIC, WE WOULD BE ABLE TO GAUGE THE SEVERITY OR THE AMOUNT OF OUTBREAK IN OUR COMMUNITY. 
          AND SO I DON'T KNOW. 
          I JUST LIKE FOR US TO THINK A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY BECAUSE I THINK THE MESSAGE IS BEING LOST. AND PEOPLE ARE PRETTY YOU KNOW, A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE DONE WITH COVID AND AREN'T REALLY FOCUSING ON IT, AND THEY'RE ONLY WEARING A MASK TO BE RESPECTFUL TO OTHERS AND DON'T REALLY BELIEVE IT'S HELPING THEM OR OTHERS. 
          AND I HAVEN'T SEEN ANY DATA THAT SAYS HELPFUL OR NOT. 
          RIGHT. SO IT WOULD BE NICE TO HAVE THAT KIND OF INFORMATION. 
          SECONDLY, SO WE GOT A PUBLIC COMMENT EARLIER THAT TALKED ABOUT TRANSPARENCY WITH THE WITH THE SCHOOLS AND WHAT'S HAPPENING THERE. 
          [01:30:02]
AND YOU MENTIONED, I THINK, THAT WE HAVEN'T HAD OUTBREAKS AT WITH STUDENTS AT SCHOOLS, BUT WE'VE HAD SOME IN ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES. 
          IS THAT CORRECT? YES. OK, SO I WENT TO OUR DASHBOARD AND THERE'S NO SCHOOL DISTRICTS THAT LISTS AS CURRENT OUTBREAKS. SO WHERE ARE THEY ON THIS DASHBOARD FOR A PERIOD AND THEN HAVE BEEN REMOVED? YES, THAT'S CORRECT. ONLY ACTIVE OUTBREAKS ARE ON THE DASHBOARD. 
          SO CAN YOU TELL US HOW MANY, LIKE HOW MANY PEOPLE WERE IN THOSE OUTBREAKS AND HOW LONG AGO THEY WERE WHEN THEY HAPPENED? ONE WAS A LOS BANOS UNION SCHOOL DISTRICT, AND THAT WAS WAY BACK IN THE SUMMER. 
          AND I BELIEVE THAT HAD FIVE INDIVIDUALS. 
          AND THEN ONE WAS MERCED UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT. 
          THAT WAS MORE RECENT. 
          BUT IT HAS BEEN CLEARED AND I BELIEVE THAT WAS THREE TO FOUR INDIVIDUALS. 
          OK. ALL RIGHT. 
          AND THEN WHAT? AND WHAT ABOUT THE POSITIVITY RATE OF TWO POINT EIGHT PERCENT OF THE PEOPLE BEING POSITIVE? I MEAN, WHAT'S THAT TELL US? SURE. SO THE TEST POSITIVITY RATE DOES GIVE US A GOOD IDEA OF THE DISEASE SPREAD IN OUR COMMUNITY AS LONG AS WE'RE TESTING ENOUGH PEOPLE TO HAVE THAT BE AN ACCURATE NUMBER. 
          SO RIGHT NOW, THE DISEASE SPREAD REMAINS LOW. 
          AGAIN, THAT TWO POINT EIGHT IS TWO AND A HALF WEEKS, ABOUT TWO AND A HALF WEEKS OLD. 
          SO I DO ANTICIPATE THAT WILL START TO GO UP AS WE'VE SEEN AN INCREASE IN SYMPTOMATIC TESTING AT OUR CLINICS AS WELL AS AN INCREASE IN CASES. 
          SO IT'S A WAY OF GAUGING HOW THE DISEASE SPREAD IS IN OUR COMMUNITY, BUT IT'S ONLY EFFECTIVE IF WE ARE SEEING ENOUGH PEOPLE TEST. 
          ONE THING THAT WE'VE HEARD IS THAT A FEW TIMES IS, WELL NO ONE SHOULD GET TESTED AND THEN WE'D BE ABLE TO REOPEN EVERYTHING BECAUSE WE'D HAVE NO CASES. 
          SO THAT'S NOT TRUE FOR THE FACT THAT THERE WILL ALWAYS BE A SECTION OF PEOPLE WHO ARE GETTING TESTED AND THOSE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE SICK AND GOING TO THEIR DOCTORS TO BE TESTED OR GOING TO THE HOSPITAL TO BE TESTED. 
          SO IF THOSE ARE THE ONLY PEOPLE TESTING OUR TEST POSITIVITY RATE WOULD BE ONE HUNDRED PERCENT. RIGHT. AND THEN BACK IN JULY, WHEN WE WERE SEEING THE SPIKES THAT WE WERE SEEING THE LARGE INCREASES, DRAMATIC INCREASES AFTER THE HOLIDAYS AND THROUGH THE SUMMER, WE ARE TEST POSITIVITY RATE HIT AS HIGH AS 20 PERCENT. 
          SO ONE IN FIVE PEOPLE BEING TESTED WAS POSITIVE. 
          AND THAT INDICATED THAT THERE WAS A LOT OF DISEASE SPREAD IN THE COMMUNITY. 
          SO IT'S A WAY OF REALLY GETTING AN ASSESSMENT OF WHERE WE ARE AND THEN BEING ABLE TO TRACK THAT. WE HAVE BEEN REALLY STABLE, AS I MENTIONED, OF LESS THAN FIVE PERCENT TEST POSITIVITY SINCE ABOUT SINCE EARLY SEPTEMBER, REALLY. 
          SO WE'VE BEEN REALLY STABLE FOR QUITE SOME TIME ON THAT, WHICH IS A REALLY GOOD SIGN. 
          AND WHY WE ALSO FEEL COMFORTABLE IN GIVING THE ADVICE THAT DR. 
          SANDOVAL OUTLINED TO THE SCHOOLS AND GETTING THE SCHOOLS BACK IN SESSION AS THEY ARE PREPARED AND READY TO DO, BECAUSE IT IS THAT RISK REWARD BALANCE. 
          WELL, SO HERE'S MY PROBLEM WITH THE NUMBERS. 
          WHEN WE HAD 20 PERCENT POSITIVITY RATE AND WE HAVE TWO POINT EIGHT PERCENT POSITIVITY RATE, THOSE TWO NUMBERS TO ME DON'T DICTATE THE SPREAD OF THE DISEASE IN OUR COMMUNITY. 
          RIGHT. IT'S A MATTER OF. 
          BACK BEFORE WE ASK PEOPLE TO TEST FOR NO REASON. 
          RIGHT. YOU WOULD EXPECT IT TO BE HIGHER BECAUSE ONLY THE PEOPLE THAT THINK THEY HAVE IT ARE GOING TO GET TESTED, RIGHT? IS THAT CORRECT? OUR TESTING RATE HAS REMAINED FAIRLY STABLE THROUGHOUT JULY AND AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER. 
          SO THERE REALLY HAS BEEN A DECREASE IN ACTUAL DISEASE IN THE COMMUNITY, AND YET WE'RE ON THE VERGE OF BEING LOCKED DOWN HARDER. 
          THAT'S MY POINT. SO ANYWAYS, I KNOW YOU'RE IN A DIFFICULT POSITION. 
          I WOULD LIKE TO AND I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAVE THE THE INFORMATION TO GIVE US EPIDEMIOLOGY OF COVID-19 SOME OF IT NOW. 
          BUT PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW. 
          I MEAN, IT'S A PHANTOM DISEASE TO MOST PEOPLE. 
          AND AS WE EXPLAINED TO THEM EXACTLY HOW THEY'RE GETTING IT, HOW HOW IT AFFECTS THE BODY, MORE INFORMATION PEOPLE ARE PEOPLE ARE TUNING OUT TO COVID-19. 
          SURE. WE HAVE GIVEN SOME INFORMATION BEFORE. 
          I THINK THAT KIND OF. 
          MY PERSPECTIVE IS AT THIS POINT, ALMOST NOT REGARDLESS, BUT KIND OF THE EVIDENCE THAT WE GIVE AND THE INFORMATION THAT WE GIVE, THAT THE COVID FATIGUE IS SO SEVERE THAT IT'S DIFFICULT TO OVERCOME WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW. 
          AND ALSO THERE BEING SO MUCH DIVISION WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY, IN THE NATION AROUND REALLY EVERYTHING, BUT ALSO COVID. 
          IT'S ALMOST AS IF I JOKE WITH MY TEAM. 
          BUT IT'S ACTUALLY TRUE THAT IF EVERYONE IS MAD AT US, WE'RE DOING SOMETHING RIGHT. 
          [01:35:04]
RIGHT. BECAUSE THEN HALF OF THE PEOPLE THINK WE'RE NOT DOING ENOUGH AND HALF THE PEOPLE THINK WE'RE DOING TOO MUCH. 
          AND IT'S A REALLY FINE LINE TO WALK. 
          AND IT'S A IT'S A PRECARIOUS PLACE TO BE, BUT IT IS KIND OF REFLECTIVE OF WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW AS A COMMUNITY AND AS A NATION. 
          IN TERMS OF THE EPIDEMIOLOGY AROUND COVID, EVIDENCE REALLY IS SHOWING THAT THE MAIN REASON THAT PEOPLE GET COVID IS THAT THEY ARE IN A NON VENTILATED SPACE WITHOUT MASKS, IN A CLOSE PROXIMITY FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME. 
          SO ANYTHING WE CAN DO TO MAKE THOSE THINGS LESS IS BETTER. 
          SO OPENING WINDOWS, INCREASING VENTILATION, DECREASING THE AMOUNT OF TIME YOU'RE WITH, WITH AROUND PEOPLE IN A CLOSE PROXIMITY, WEARING A MASK AND INCREASING THAT SOCIAL DISTANCING, THOSE ARE GOING TO BE THE THINGS AND THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT HAVE THE MOST SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE AROUND PREVENTING THE TRANSMISSION OF COVID-19. 
          THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF FOCUS ON HYGIENE THEATER IS WHAT IT'S CALLED. 
          SO LEAVING YOUR PACKAGES OUT FOR THREE DAYS AND NOT TOUCHING YOUR MAIL AND ALL THOSE THINGS, THOSE REALLY ARE LESS EFFECTIVE IN TERMS OF CURTAILING THE SPREAD. 
          IT REALLY IS A PERSON TO PERSON TRANSMISSION OF THE VIRUS IN CLOSE PROXIMITY, UNMASKED IN UNVENTILATED AREA. 
          SO THAT'S THE EPIDEMIOLOGY OF IT. 
          IN TERMS OF H1N1, THERE IS A VARIETY OF THINGS THAT MAKE THIS DIFFERENT. 
          THE BIGGEST ONES IS THAT THIS IS MORE CONTAGIOUS AND MORE DEADLY. 
          AND WE WERE IT WASN'T THE FIRST FLU WE HAVE HAD EVER SEEN. 
          AND SO IN TERMS OF BOTH THERAPEUTICS FOR TREATMENT AND VACCINE, WE WERE A STEP AHEAD. 
          AND SO THEREFORE, WE'RE ABLE TO GET THOSE EFFECTIVE TREATMENTS AND THOSE EFFECTIVE VACCINES MUCH MORE QUICKLY THAN WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO. 
          AND WE'LL BE ABLE TO FOR COVID-19. 
          WE ARE SEEING IMPROVEMENTS IN TREATMENTS, WHICH IS GREAT. 
          BUT THE PROBLEM IS, IS THAT THEY'RE ALSO HOSPITAL BASED. 
          SO SOME OF THE SOME REALLY ENCOURAGING NEWS THAT WE'VE SEEN AROUND HOSPITALIZATIONS IS THAT FATALITY RATE OF PEOPLE WHO ARE HOSPITALIZED HAS DECREASED DRAMATICALLY SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THIS THING BECAUSE DOCTORS HAVE GOTTEN BETTER AT TREATING IT. 
          BUT WE DON'T HAVE A FLU EQUIVALENT TREATMENT FOR A CLINICAL SETTING. 
          SO GOING TO YOUR DOCTOR AND GETTING, YOU KNOW, A FLU PACK OR WHATEVER OR SOMETHING THAT CAN REALLY SLOW DOWN THE TRANSMISSION OF THE NOT THE TRANSMISSION, BUT THE SYMPTOMS OF THE FLU AND GET YOU THROUGH IT MORE QUICKLY. 
          THERE'S NO EQUIVALENT ON AN OUTPATIENT SETTING FOR COVID. 
          SO THAT'S ANOTHER BIG ISSUE. 
          SO WE DO SEE PEOPLE WHO, EVEN IF THEY'RE NOT HOSPITALIZED, IF THEY DO BECOME SYMPTOMATIC AND BECOME ILL, CAN BE ILL FOR A LONG TIME AND HAVE LINGERING EFFECTS. 
          THEY'RE STARTING TO BE MORE RESEARCH ON THAT. 
          THEY'RE CALLED COVID LONG TIMERS TO WHERE THEY MIGHT HAVE EXTREME FATIGUE OR DIFFICULTY BREATHING, YOU KNOW, HAVE SOME REAL LONG TERM EFFECTS FOR OVER ONE HUNDRED DAYS. 
          SO AS WE GET MORE AND MORE INFORMATION AROUND WHAT THIS DISEASE LOOKS LIKE, BOTH NATIONWIDE AND WORLDWIDE, WE'RE STARTING TO BE ABLE TO SEE SOME OF THESE THINGS THAT COME UP THAT MAKE IT SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT FROM THE FLU. 
          ANOTHER BIG DIFFERENCE IS THAT THE FLU ONLY ATTACKS THE LUNGS. 
          COVID REALLY DOES HAVE EFFECTS THROUGHOUT THE BODY. 
          WE SEE KIDNEY DAMAGE. 
          WE SEE HEART DAMAGE. 
          IT'S NOT ALTHOUGH THE WAY THAT IT ENTERS THE BODY IS VIA THE RESPIRATORY TRACT. 
          IT THEN BECOMES WIDESPREAD THROUGHOUT THE BODY AND CAUSES MORE ISSUES THAN WHAT WE WOULD SEE WITH THE FLU. 
          THOSE ARE JUST A COUPLE OF THINGS. 
          BUT CERTAINLY WE CAN ADD TO THAT IN OUR NEXT PRESENTATION IF THAT'S OF INTEREST. 
          YEAH. AND WHAT ARE PEOPLE BEING TREATED WITH? YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? JUST REAL KNOWLEDGE ABOUT WHAT REAL TIME I MEAN, THIS HAS BEEN SINCE MARCH OR BEFORE. 
          RIGHT. SO WE HAVE SOME DATA. 
          WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, JUST HARD FACTS. 
          AND IN WHAT PEOPLE ARE DOING AT THE HOSPITAL, I JUST THINK THE KNOWLEDGE WOULD HELP PEOPLE UNDERSTAND AND MAYBE SPEND A LOT MORE TIME PROTECTING THEMSELVES. 
          SO, THANK YOU. THANK YOU. 
          SUPERVISOR LOR? THANK YOU. 
          I WANT TO THANK THE PUBLIC FOR PROVIDING FEEDBACK AND COMMENTS ON THE WORK THAT PUBLIC HEALTH AND THE COUNTY HAS BEEN DOING BECAUSE THAT HELPS US IMPROVE WHAT WE ARE DOING. 
          I HAVE SEVERAL QUESTIONS. 
          CAN YOU REMIND US AT WHAT POINT LOCATIONS WOULD BE DETERMINED AS AN OUTBREAK AND POSTED ON OUR WEBSITE? SURE. 
          IT'S THREE LABORATORY CONFIRMED CASES AND PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT WHO DON'T HAVE A LINK OUTSIDE OF THAT WORKPLACE OR THAT SPACE. 
          SO, FOR EXAMPLE, WE HAVE MANY HUSBAND AND WIFE DUOS WHO WORK AT THE SAME LOCATION. 
          [01:40:01]
IF THEY BOTH BECOME ILL, THEY COUNT AS ONE IN TERMS OF AN OUTBREAK. 
          SO IT'S THREE INDIVIDUAL PEOPLE NOT LINKED OUTSIDE OF WORK OR THAT BUSINESS WHO ARE LINKED TO THAT BUSINESS WITHIN 14 DAYS. 
          OK, AND THAT INCLUDES ANY AGES? YES. OK, NOW WHO ESTABLISHES HOW A SCHOOL RESPONDS TO POSITIVE CASES IN STUDENTS. 
          SO WE'VE WORKED WITH THE SCHOOLS AND TO CREATE A GUIDANCE IN TERMS OF WHAT WE'LL DO HERE ON MERCED, IN MERCED COUNTY. 
          IT IS BASED IN ALIGNED WITH BOTH THE GUIDANCE FROM THE CDPH TO THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH, AS WELL AS THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION. 
          SO BOTH OF THOSE ENTITIES PUT OUT GUIDANCES IS AROUND SCHOOLS, SCHOOL SAFETY. 
          AND THEN WE HAVE ADOPTED THOSE HERE LOCALLY AND CREATED TOOLS FOR THE SCHOOLS, AS WELL AS HELD CONTACT TRACING, WEBINAR WEBINARS AND ZOOM MEETINGS AROUND THAT. 
          AS WELL AS THE SCHOOLS ALL HAVE ARE BASICALLY DIRECT LINES AND CONTACT US IF THEY HAVE ANY CONCERNS AT ALL. OK, WITH THOSE PROTOCOLS, DOES IT INCLUDE LETTING FAMILIES KNOW OF A POSITIVE CASE? IT DOES INCLUDE LETTING THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY KNOW OF A POSITIVE CASE. 
          HOWEVER, IT DOES NOT INCLUDE LETTING SCHOOLS KNOW OF A LETTING PARENTS KNOW OF A OF A CONTACT. SO THAT'S A REALLY IMPORTANT DISTINCTION AND SOMETHING THAT HAS COME UP ALREADY. 
          IF I'LL JUST USE MYSELF AS AN EXAMPLE, I HAVE A KINDERGARTNER. 
          IF MY KINDERGARTNER BECOMES POSITIVE AND IS AT SCHOOL DURING HER INFECTIOUS PERIOD, THE WHOLE CLASSROOM KNOWS. AND ACTUALLY WE'VE BEEN ADVISING THE SCHOOL TO LET THE WHOLE SCHOOL KNOW JUST FOR, AGAIN, TRANSPARENCY. 
          IF I BECOME ILL AND THEN MY DAUGHTER IS QUARANTINING WITH ME, WE DON'T LET THAT. 
          WE DON'T HAVE TO LET THE PARENTS KNOW BECAUSE MY DAUGHTER IS NOT A CASE AND MY DAUGHTER IS NOT INFECTIOUS TO THOSE CHILDREN. 
          SO THERE IS A FINE LINE HERE BETWEEN CONFIDENTIALITY AND TRANSPARENCY. 
          AND SO IF THERE IS A CASE IN A SCHOOL, YES, THERE IS A NOTIFICATION PROCESS. 
          IF THERE IS A CONTACT IN A SCHOOL. 
          NO, NOT NECESSARILY. 
          THANK YOU. THANK YOU. 
          I THINK THAT'S ALL THE QUESTIONS. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. APPRECIATE IT. 
          AND WE'RE GOING TO TAKE A FIVE MINUTE RECESS. 
          AND WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK. THANK YOU. 
          OK, I THINK WE'RE GOING TO GO AHEAD AND START. 
          WE'RE BACK. IT WAS HERE AND WE'LL MOVE ON. 
          NEXT IS APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA CALENDAR ITEMS ONE AND TWO. 
          [CONSENT CALENDAR]
ITEMS ONE AND TWO. 
          ANY COMMENTS OR MOTIONS? MOTION BY SUPERVISOR LOR, SECOND BY SUPERVISOR DARON MCDANIEL. 
          WE HAD PUBLIC COMMENT ALREADY, SO THE VOTE, PLEASE. 
          RECORD THE VOTE. 
          MOTION CARRIES FIVE ZERO. NEXT IS BOARD ACTION PUBLIC WORKS. 
          [BOARD ACTION]
ITEMS THREE, FOUR AND FIVE, THESE ITEMS REQUIRE A FOUR FIFTH VOTE AND ITEM TWENTY ONE WILL BE MOVED UP AND TAKEN WITH THESE ITEMS. OK. THREE, FOUR, FIVE, SIX AND TWENTY ONE RIGHT? FIVE, SIX AND TWENTY ONE, TOGETHER. 
          YEAH. SO ANY COMMENTS OR MOTIONS. 
          MOTION BY SUPERVISOR MCDANIEL AND SECOND BY SUPERVISOR LOR. 
          WE HAVE A COMMENT BY SUPERVISOR SILVEIRA. 
          I'M SORRY. 
          THANK YOU MR. CHAIR. 
          AND FOR THE PUBLIC, IF THEY'RE WONDERING WHY WE MOVED ITEM TWENTY ONE UP TO CONSIDER WITH THIS ITEM, BECAUSE THEY'RE KIND OF THEY GO HAND IN HAND. 
          AND SO ITEM TWENTY ONE IS SUPERVISOR MCDANIEL'S REQUEST TO UTILIZE NINETY THOUSAND OF HIS SPECIAL PROJECTS MONEY TO HELP WITH THE PURCHASE OF THE PROPERTY FOR THE FUTURE PARK IMPROVEMENTS. 
          AND THAT'S WHY THEY'RE TIED TOGETHER. 
          AND THANK YOU GUYS FOR MOVING THAT UP. 
          AND I GLADLY SUPPORT THIS PROJECT. 
          OK, SUPERVISOR MCDANIEL? NO COMMENTS? OK. SUPERVISOR LOR? I'M I TOO AM EXCITED ABOUT TAKING THESE NEXT STEPS. 
          I WANTED TO KNOW IF WE ARE LOOKING FOR A PUBLIC INPUT ON THE FUTURE SPACE. 
          [01:45:13]
OK, YOU TOO? YEAH, WE AND I HAVE PATTY [INAUDIBLE] TO THANK FOR THAT. 
          WE'VE BEEN ENGAGED WITH THE PUBLIC NOW FOR ACTUALLY IT'S BEEN ABOUT FOUR OR FIVE WEEKS NOW WITH A SERIES OF ZOOM AND FACEBOOK LIVE. 
          WE DID WE WERE OUT AT THE PARK PROPERTY YESTERDAY, ACTUALLY JUST [INAUDIBLE] SCHOOL RIGHT NEXT TO IT. AND WE ACTUALLY HAD FULL, LARGE MAPS WHERE WE WERE DOING INTERACTIVE WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS THERE. 
          AND WE'VE ACTUALLY SENT IT OUT. 
          SOME FOLKS SAID THEY COULDN'T MAKE IT, SO WE SENT THEM THE MAPS AND SHOWED THEM HOW WE'RE PUTTING IT TOGETHER. SO IT'S BEEN EXCITING. 
          THIS HAS BEEN ONE THIS IS A PROJECT THAT I'VE BEEN WORKING ON SINCE ELECTED. 
          AND THIS IS A GOOD EXCITEMENT. 
          THIS IS THERE'S GOVERNMENT. 
          AND I KEEP SAYING EVERY TIME ON ALL THE MEETINGS, GOVERNMENT MOVES SLOW. 
          BUT IT'S AMAZING WHAT WE ACCOMPLISH HERE WITH THIS AND MOVE FROM TWO AND A HALF ACRE GOAL TO NOW IT'S 18 AND A HALF ACRES TO THE COMMUNITY CENTER AND OTHER THINGS. 
          AND THE PUBLIC COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION HAS BEEN FANTASTIC. 
          SO, YEAH, THANKS FOR BRINGING THAT UP. 
          AND JUST TO BE SPECIFIC, ITEM TWENTY ONE IS PART OF FIVE, WHICH IS ITEM TWENTY ONE IS NINETY THOUSAND DOLLARS IN ALL DISCRETIONARY FUNDS THAT THE SUPERVISORS STILL KEPT. 
          AND YOU KNOW, YOU USE IT WONDERFULLY FOR THIS DISTRICT PARK. 
          THAT WILL BE PART OF THE FRANKLIN, BEACHWOOD AREA. 
          SO I THINK WE'RE ALL EXCITED TO HAVE SO THE COMMUNITY CAN HAVE ANOTHER PARK IN THAT AREA. 
          THERE'S NO PARKS THAT I KNOW OF IN THAT PARK. 
          SO UNLESS I'M WRONG. 
          SO THIS IS A GREAT JOB. 
          SO WE HAVE A MOTION BY SUPERVISOR DARON MCDANIEL, SECOND BY SUPERVISOR LEE LOR. 
          SO VOTE, PLEASE. 
          RECORD THE VOTE. MOTION CARRIES FIVE ZERO. 
          CONGRATULATIONS. ITEM NUMBER SEVEN. 
          NEXT IS HEALTH ITEM NUMBER SEVEN. 
          OK, SO ANY COMMENTS OR MOTIONS? MOTION BY SUPERVISOR SILVEIRA, SECOND BY LOR. GO AHEAD AND VOTE. 
          RECORD THE VOTE. 
          MOTION CARRIES FIVE ZERO AGAIN. 
          HUMAN SERVICES AGENCY, EIGHT THROUGH 10. 
          EIGHT THOUGH 10. SO WE HAVE A, SORRY. 
          THANK YOU. I JUST WANTED TO ABSTAIN FROM EIGHT AND NINE, SO IF WE CAN TAKE THOSE SEPARATELY, I CAN STEP OUT AND YOU ALL CAN DO EIGHT AND NINE OR WE CAN DO 10 FIRST. 
          WELL, LET'S LISTEN TO THEM FIRST. 
          AND THEN SO YOU THEN YOU CAN STEP OUT AND GO BACK AND DO EIGHT NINE. 
          OK. OK. SOUNDS GOOD. 
          SO THEN I'LL MOVE TO APPROVE. 
          ITEM NUMBER 10. 
          MOVE TO APPROVE ITEM NUMBER 10. 
          SOMEBODY ELSE HAD A COMMENT ON 10? NO, OK, NOTHING ON 10. 
          IT WAS FOR EIGHT AND NINE. YEAH. OK, SO MOTION BY SUPERVISOR MCDANIEL. 
          YEAH. AND SECOND BY SUPERVISOR PAREIRA. 
          SO GO AHEAD A VOTE. 
          YES. SUPERVISOR LOR FIRST AND SECOND BY SUPERVISOR PAREIRA. 
          THANK YOU. YEAH, THERE WE GO. 
          MIC] BUT NOT MINE. 
          THERE WE GO. OK, GO AHEAD AND VOTE, PLEASE. 
          RECORD THE VOTE. SO NOW WE'LL GO BACK TO NUMBER EIGHT AND NINE AND SUPERVISOR LOR IS GOING TO ABSTAIN. THANK YOU. 
          I WANTED TO ABSTAIN. 
          I SERVE AS THE CHAIR OF THE [INAUDIBLE]. 
          THANK YOU. YEAH, WE'LL, WAIT A SECOND SO SHE CAN STEP OUT OF THE ROOM. 
          OK, SO WE HAVE A MOTION BY SUPERVISOR MCDANIEL. 
          PAREIRA. OOPS, SORRY. 
          [01:50:06]
THERE WE GO. AND THERE WE GO. 
          GO AHEAD AND VOTE PLEASE. 
          RECORD THE VOTE. 
          MOTION CARRIES FOUR WITH ONE RECUSAL. 
          NEXT, IS COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. 
          ITEMS 11 THROUGH 13. 
          AND THERE'S, OK, 11 TO 13. 
          AND SO WE HAVE A MOTION BY SUPERVISOR SILVEIRA, IS THERE A SECOND? SUPERVISOR PAREIRA. 
          GO AHEAD AND VOTE. 
          ELEVEN THROUGH THIRTEEN. OH, WE GOT TO FIX IT UP THERE, YEAH. 
          WE'RE JUST HAVING A LITTLE BIT TECHNICAL DIFFICULTY. 
          CANCEL THAT. 
          RECORD THE VOTE PLEASE. 
          MOTION CARRIES FIVE ZERO. 
          ITEM NUMBER 14 AND 15. 
          MOTION BY SUPERVISOR LEE LOR, SECOND BY SUPERVISOR SILVEIRA. 
          WE HAD PUBLIC COMMENT ALREADY. SO GO AHEAD AND VOTE PLEASE. RECORD THE VOTE. 
          MOTION CARRIES FIVE ZERO. 
          LIBRARY ITEM NUMBER 16. 
          ITEM NUMBER 16, SO WE HAVE A SUPERVISOR LOR, COMMENT? THANK YOU. ABSTAINING FROM THIS ONE AS WELL. 
          I SERVE ITS FIRST FIVE CHAIR. 
          OK. 
          SO WE HAD A MOTION, I DIDN'T [INAUDIBLE]. 
          OK SUPERVISOR SILVEIRA, SUPERVISOR MCDANIEL, A SECOND. 
          SO WE VOTE. RECORD THE VOTE. 
          MOTION CARRIES FOUR AND ONE RECUSAL. 
          FOUR ZERO . NEXT IS FIRE ITEM 17 AND 18. 
          ITEM 17 AND 18, MOTION BY SUPERVISOR SILVEIRA, SECOND SUPERVISOR PAREIRA. 
          GO AHEAD AND VOTE PLEASE. 
          WE HAVE A COMMENT BY SUPERVISOR SILVEIRA. 
          SO A COMMENT? NO. I JUST WANT TO ASK A QUESTION ON ITEM 17. 
          IN THE RESOLUTION, IT REQUIRES THAT THREE BOARD MEMBERS BE LISTED ON THERE. 
          AND SO THE ACTION IS TO, NOMINATE THE POSITIONS. 
          AND SO ITS A DIRECTOR OF OFFICE OF EMERGENCY SERVICES, THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS AND THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF ADMINISTRATION. 
          SO IT DOESN'T GIVE SPECIFICALLY NAMES. 
          BUT IF YOU READ FURTHER DOWN IN THE IN THE RESOLUTION, IT REQUIRES THAT THERE BE THREE MEMBERS FROM THE GOVERNING BODY REPRESENTATIVES. 
          AND SO MY QUESTION IS, IS WHO ARE THE THREE? CHAIRMAN, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD, I'M LOOKING AT THIS, THIS IS YOUR DIRECTOR OF EMERGENCY 
          [01:55:01]
SERVICES. THIS ESSENTIALLY ALL IS DAVID SHIRK IS WHO ESSENTIALLY IS THIS. 
          IT IS NOT ACTUALLY THE BOARD MEMBERS WHO SERVE IN THIS CAPACITY. 
          I DO SEE ON THIS WHY WHERE IT SAYS NAME AND TITLE OF GOVERNING BODY REPRESENTATIVE. 
          AND THEN IF YOU READ DOWN IN THE NOTES, IT TELLS YOU THAT THE GOVERNING BODY OF REPRESENTATIVE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR APPOINTING AND APPROVING THE AUTHORIZED AGENTS. 
          EXAMPLES INCLUDE THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS, CITY COUNCIL, BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, BOARD OF EDUCATION, ETC.. SO IT'S BASICALLY THE REPRESENTATIVES WHO ARE, A MINIMUM OF THREE. 
          FOR SAKE OF DISCUSSION, I DO NOT SEE. 
          OH, HE IS HERE. 
          DO YOU HAVE AN ANSWER TO THAT VERSUS JUST LISTING ALL FIVE? MERCED COUNTY [INAUDIBLE]. 
          THIS IS THE THREE YEAR RENEWAL FORM THAT IS FILED WITH THE STATE THAT YOU'RE MENTIONING. 
          AND SUPERVISOR SILVEIRA, AS YOU MENTIONED, IS OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS WE'VE DONE THIS, AS WE'VE LEARNED, DUE TO IF THERE IS ANY PERSONNEL CHANGES, WE ALWAYS USE THE TITLE POSITIONS AND THEN A SEPARATE RESOLUTION WHICH TIES WITH OTHER GRANTS TO NAME THOSE. 
          I THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION. 
          IN THE PAST, IT'S BEEN THE CHAIRMAN AND THE VICE CHAIR AND THEN ONE OTHER PERSON, AND IT'S A [INAUDIBLE] FORM AND DOCUMENTATION ON WHO THE MERCED COUNTY DESIGNATES TO DO THOSE SIGNATURES IN THE EVENT THAT THERE IS A DISASTER. 
          SO TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION ON WHO SPECIFICALLY IS ON THERE, I THINK THAT'S UP TO YOUR DISCRETION ON WHAT THREE MEMBERS. 
          I THINK IT'S JUST MORE OF A, MORE TO VALIDATE THAT THREE ACTUAL NAMES WERE PART OF THE VOTE IS MY QUICK ANSWER. 
          AND SO I GUESS AND I WANT ONE OF MY NAME, I WANT DISTRICT FIVE TO BE REPRESENTED ON THIS DOCUMENT. SO I ASKED THAT AS PART OF MY MOTION THAT MY NAME BE INCLUDED IS ONE OF THE SIGNATORY ON THIS DOCUMENTATION. 
          AND THEN I'M GOOD WITH WHOEVER AFTER THAT. 
          THANK YOU. OH, I'M SORRY. 
          SUPERVISOR PAREIRA? I'M ACTUALLY REPRESENTING THE GREAT DISTRICT FOUR IN MERCED COUNTY AND BEING THE SECONDER TO THE MOTION. 
          I WOULD REQUEST THAT MY NAME BE ON THERE AS WELL. 
          MR. MAKER OF THE MOTION. 
          VERY GOOD. SO THAT'S TWO, WE NEED THREE. 
          AND THE CHAIR. YEAH. 
          GOOD. THANK YOU. 
          SO WE HAVE A MOTION SUPERVISOR SILVEIRA, SECOND BY SUPERVISOR PAREIRA. 
          OH BY. 
          WITH THE MODIFICATION OF INCLUDING CHAIR, MYSELF AND THE DISTRICT FOUR SUPERVISOR PAREIRA BE THE THREE NAMES ADDED TO THE RESOLUTION. 
          ALL RIGHT. GO AHEAD AND VOTE PLEASE. 
          RECORD THE VOTE. 
          MOTION CARRIES FIVE ZERO. NEXT IS EXECUTIVE OFFICE ITEM NUMBER 19 WILL BE TAKEN SEPARATELY . ITEM NUMBER 19, APPOINT THE CALIFORNIA STATE ASSOCIATION OF COUNTY CSAC BOARD OF DIRECTORS PRIMARY AND ALTERNATE MEMBERS OF THE 2020, 2021. 
          WHOSE EXISTING? SUPERVISOR LOR AND WHO ELSE? SUPERVISOR SILVEIRA. AND SO IT'S UP TO YOU GUYS. MOTION BY SUPERVISOR LOR. 
          KEEP IT THE SAME OR? SO MOTION BY SUPERVISOR LOR TO KEEP IT THE SAME, AND YOU WANT TO SPEAK, SORRY. GO AHEAD. 
          THANK YOU. I WAS JUST GOING TO SAY THAT IS A MOTION TO KEEP IT THE SAME IF SUPERVISOR SILVEIRA IS OPEN TO IT. THANK YOU. 
          OK, SO WE HAVE A MOTION BY SUPERVISOR LOR, SECOND BY SUPERVISOR MCDANIEL. 
          GO AHEAD AND VOTE. RECORD THE VOTE. 
          . ITEM NUMBER 20. 
          APPOINT THE RURAL COUNTY REPRESENTATIVE OF CALIFORNIA RCRC AND GOLDEN STATE FINANCE AUTHORITY GSFA BOARD OF DIRECTORS DELEGATE AND ALTERNATE MEMBERS FOR 2021. 
          I KNOW THE CURRENT MEMBER IS SUPERVISOR MCDANIEL AND THE PRESIDENT OF RCRC FOR UNTIL, UNTIL WHEN? AND DO WE HAVE A MOTION BY SUPERVISOR PAREIRA AND SECOND BY SUPERVISOR LOR TO DO THE SAME ? I MIGHT JUST WANT TO TAKE THIS TIME TO LET THE PUBLIC KNOW THAT SUPERVISOR MCDANIEL IS THE 
          [02:00:06]
CURRENT CHAIR AND HAS DONE A PHENOMENAL JOB NOT ONLY REPRESENTING THE RURAL COUNTIES OF CALIFORNIA, BUT REPRESENTING MERCED. 
          JUST WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THAT. 
          OK. I SECOND THAT COMMENT NOT THE MOTION. 
          [LAUGHTER] ALL RIGHT, SO WE HAVE A SECOND SUPERVISOR LOR. 
          SO WE'LL VOTE PLEASE. RECORD THE VOTE. 
          MOTION CARRIES FIVE ZERO. NEXT, IS BOARD APPOINTMENTS. 
          ITEMS TWENTY TWO THROUGH TWENTY FIVE ITEMS. TWENTY TWO TO TWENTY FIVE. 
          SO WE HAVE COMMENTS OR MOTIONS? MOTION BY SUPERVISOR SILVEIRA, SECOND BY SUPERVISOR LOR. 
          GO AHEAD AND VOTE. OK, RECORD THE VOTE. 
          MOTION CARRIES FIVE ZERO. BOARD INFORMATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ITEMS TWENTY SIX THROUGH 
          [BOARD INFORMATION & POSSIBLE ACTION]
TWENTY EIGHT. 
          26 TO 28. ANY COMMENTS OR MOTIONS ? I JUST PUT IN A DISCUSSION SO EVERYONE CAN. 
          SO WE HAVE A MOTION BY SUPERVISOR MCDANIEL SECOND BY SUPERVISOR LOR. 
          GO AHEAD AND VOTE. MOTION CARRIES FIVE ZERO. 
          [REPORTS/BOARD DIRECTION]
WE'LL START WITH SUPERVISOR SILVEIRA. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. JUST A COUPLE OF THINGS TODAY. 
          FIRST OFF, IT IS ELECTION DAY. 
          IF YOU DIDN'T KNOW THAT, THEN YOU'VE PROBABLY BEEN SLEEPING UNDER A ROCK SOMEWHERE BECAUSE, IT'S REALLY ACTUALLY INTERESTING. 
          MY 15 AND 16 YEAR OLD, WE'VE BEEN HAVING A LOT OF DISCUSSIONS IN AND AROUND POLITICS THESE LAST FEW WEEKS WITH IT BEING SO PREVALENT EVERYWHERE YOU GO, TV, SOCIAL MEDIA, EVERYBODY'S TALKING ABOUT IT. 
          SO IF YOU HAVEN'T GONE OUT TO VOTE, YOU STILL HAVE PLENTY OF TIME. 
          I'D ENCOURAGE YOU TO DO SO. 
          A COUPLE OF THINGS I JUST WANT TO RESTATE IS, YOU KNOW, THE PUBLIC HEALTH STAFF AND THE JOB THAT THEY'RE DOING OVER THERE, I TALKED TO THEM ON A PRETTY REGULAR BASIS. 
          I DO CONCUR WITH MY COLLEAGUE FROM DISTRICT ONE, IN THAT WHEN WE HAVE WHEN I HAVE QUESTIONS, I GET SPECIFIC QUESTIONS FROM CONSTITUENTS. 
          YOU REACH OUT TO PUBLIC HEALTH AND THEY HAVE DONE A GOOD JOB OF MAKING SURE THAT THEY GET BACK TO YOU WITH THOSE ANSWERS, AS WELL AS CHANGING SOME OF THE THINGS UP ON THE WEBSITE TO BE, I GUESS, MAKE ON THE DASHBOARD TO MAKE THE INFORMATION MORE UNDERSTANDABLE. 
          SO I JUST WANT TO THANK THEM FOR THE WORK THAT THEY'RE DOING AND STILL SHARE MY FRUSTRATION WITH THE STATE AND THEIR CONSTANTLY MOVING GOALPOSTS. 
          SO THAT'S THAT IS WHAT IT IS. 
          WE JUST KEEP FIGHTING THROUGH IT AND WE'LL SEE WHERE WE END UP. 
          AND THEN JUST WANT TO THANK BARB LEVY AND ALL THE ELECTION STAFF. 
          I WAS OUT AT THE VOTE CENTER IN LOS BANOS AT THE COMMUNITY CENTER ON SATURDAY. 
          THEN THAT'S KIND OF LIKE THE WARM UP, IF YOU WILL. 
          EVERYBODY WAS VERY FRIENDLY WITH ALL THE ALL THE NEW IMPLEMENTATIONS BECAUSE OF COVID AND ONE WAY IN AND ONE WAY OUT. 
          AND JUST THERE WAS A GENTLEMAN THERE THAT WAS WITH A WALKER. 
          AND KIND OF THE WAY THE COMMUNITY CENTER WAS SET UP. 
          IT'S YOU KIND OF GOT TO WALK ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE END OF THE BUILDING AND THEN COME ALL THE WAY BACK UP A HALLWAY TO EXIT. 
          AND STAFF WAS RIGHT ON IT. 
          THE FOLKS WORKING THERE TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY GOT THEM TO AN EXIT, THAT WOULD SO IT DIDN'T HAVE TO TRAVEL SO FAR, HELPING FOLKS WITH GETTING THEIR BALLOT INFORMATION. 
          THERE'S ALL KINDS OF REASONS WHY PEOPLE WERE THERE. 
          SO I KNOW THAT THE WORK THAT THEY DID AND I SAID IT AT THE LAST MEETING, I'LL SAY IT AGAIN, IS, YOU KNOW, ONCE THOSE BALLOTS GET TO US, I AM SUPREMELY CONFIDENT IN THE JOB THAT OUR ELECTIONS DEPARTMENT IS DOING. 
          AND WITH THE INVESTMENTS THAT THIS BOARD HAS MADE IN THE TECHNOLOGY AND THE TABULATORS AND THE OPENERS AND THE JUST ALL THE DIFFERENT THINGS THAT WE HAVE AS PART OF ELECTIONS, THEY RUN A PRETTY TIGHT SHIP OVER THERE AND A VERY SMOOTH OPERATION. 
          I WAS THERE WHEN THEY FIRST RAN BALLOTS, ACTUALLY TABULATED BALLOTS A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO. AGAIN, KNOW I DON'T KNOW IF I SAID THIS AT THE LAST MEETING, BUT I KIND OF EQUATE IT TO LIKE COTTON PICKERS. 
          YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE THESE MULTIMILLION DOLLAR WORTH OF MACHINES TIED UP THAT WORK FOR LIKE FOUR TO SIX WEEKS OUT OF THE YEAR. 
          WELL, IT'S KIND OF THE SAME CONCEPT WITH ELECTION MACHINERY THAT, YOU KNOW, IT WORKS TWO TIMES EVERY OTHER YEAR FOR SHORT PERIODS OF TIME. 
          SO THEY HAD TO GET THEM FIRED UP, GET KIND OF THE BUGS WORKED OUT OF THEM. 
          AND THEN BY THE THIRD DAY, THEY'RE RUNNING THEY'RE RUNNING THOSE BIG EIGHT FIFTIES. 
          WE HAVE OVER THERE SPIT SOME BALLOTS UP PRETTY QUICKLY. 
          [02:05:03]
AND SO JUST AGAIN, CONGRATULATIONS TO THEM AND THE WORK THAT THEY DO AND ARE DOING AND WILL CONTINUE TO DO FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS. 
          AND SO THERE'S SOMETHING I WANT TO PUT OUT THERE. 
          I HOPE IT DOESN'T HAPPEN, BUT WE'RE EXPECTING RIGHT AT EIGHT O'CLOCK, A COUPLE OF MINUTES AFTER WE'LL GET THE FIRST SET OF RESULTS RELEASED TONIGHT. 
          BUT JUST WANT TO PUT IT OUT THERE THAT IF ANYWHERE IN ONE OF THE FIFTY EIGHT COUNTIES IN CALIFORNIA, THAT IF THERE IS ANY KIND OF INJUNCTION THAT A JUDGE PUTS ON THEM HAVING TO KEEP THEIR POLLS OPEN LONGER, FOR WHATEVER REASON THAT MAY BE, WE AS MERCED COUNTY WILL NOT BE ABLE TO BE TO RELEASE OUR NUMBERS UNTIL THOSE COUNTIES ARE READY TO RELEASE THOSE NUMBERS. I DON'T THINK THAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN, BUT JUST KIND OF PUTTING IT OUT THERE AND KNOW THAT IT'S NOT US. 
          YOU KNOW, IT COULD BE WE'RE FORCED TO DO THAT. 
          AND WE DON'T WANT TO CAUSE LEFT TO EVERYONE'S IMAGINATION. 
          THERE COULD BE A BILLION REASONS WHY THEY THINK THAT'S HAPPENING. 
          BUT I AM CONFIDENT IN THE JOB THAT OUR REGISTERED VOTERS AND OUR ELECTION STAFF ARE DOING OVER THERE. SO I'M REALLY SUPER EXCITED THAT THIS ELECTION IS FINALLY HERE AND WE CAN ACTUALLY START WATCHING SOMETHING OTHER THAN PAID ADVERTISEMENT COMMERCIALS IN. 
          WHEN YOU WATCH REGULAR TV, AS I DO, AND, YOU KNOW, ALL THE MAIL AND THE SOCIAL MEDIA ADS AND AND AND AND AND AND I THINK THAT, AS YOU KNOW, WE'RE AT AS OF THIS MORNING, THERE'S ALREADY SIXTY TWO THOUSAND BALLOTS. 
          AND THAT DOESN'T COUNT YESTERDAY, THE LAST TIME THEY HAD AN ACTUAL COUNT, WHICH I THINK WAS PROBABLY YESTERDAY MORNING OR SOMETHING. 
          SIXTY TWO THOUSAND BALLOTS. 
          HAVE ALREADY BEEN RETURNED, AND WE'RE SOMEWHERE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF AROUND ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY THOUSAND REGISTERED VOTERS. 
          WE'RE ALREADY GUARANTEED TO HAVE A ABOVE 50 PERCENT TURNOUT. 
          AND PEOPLE ARE. I SAW WHEN I CAME IN THIS MORNING, PEOPLE ARE TURNING IN THEIR BALLOTS AND I'M EXCITED FOR IT. 
          I MEAN, IT'S PEOPLE HAVE KIND OF SAT ON THEIR HANDS FOR A LONG TIME AND. 
          BUT YOU'RE MOTIVATED TO GET OUT. 
          AND THEN THE LAST THING I'LL LEAVE YOU WITH IS THERE WAS A POST THAT WAS PUT OUT ON FACEBOOK. AND JUST KIND OF THE GIST OF IT IS, IS THAT WHEN ALL THIS CRAZINESS IS OVER WITH, REMEMBER THAT WE'RE STILL WE'RE STILL NEIGHBORS. 
          WE'RE STILL FRIENDS. IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE SO DECISIVE. 
          JUST BECAUSE YOU AND I DON'T NECESSARILY AGREE ON ALL THE ISSUES DOESN'T MEAN THAT WE CAN'T BE CIVIL. AND AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE STILL LIVE IN ONE COUNTRY AND IT'S STILL THE GREATEST COUNTRY ON EARTH. 
          AND I WOULDN'T TRADE IT FOR ANYTHING. 
          AND SO I JUST REMIND PEOPLE OF THAT. 
          THERE'S A LOT OF THE FEAR MONGERING GOING ON. 
          I KNOW THAT THERE'S SOME PRE EMPTIVE ACTIONS OF PLACES BOARDING UP BUILDINGS. 
          AND I JUST HOPE FOR ALL OF OUR SAKE THAT COOLER HEADS CAN PREVAIL AND WE DON'T END UP THERE. AND I DON'T CARE WHAT SIDE OF THE COIN YOU'RE ON ON THIS DEAL OR WHAT SIDE OF THE POLITICAL AISLE YOU'RE ON IN THIS DEAL. 
          THE REALITY IS, IS THAT IT JUST DOESN'T SERVE ANYBODY ANY WELL FOR CRAZY NONSENSE TO GO ON. AND SO I JUST HOPE THE COOLER HEADS PREVAIL. 
          AND I'M STILL GLAD TO BE A PART OF THE PROCESS. 
          IT'S STILL WHAT MAKES US WHAT MAKES US THE GREATEST COUNTRY ON EARTH IS THAT YOU GET TO GO OUT THERE AND YOU GET TO VOTE AND YOU GET FRUSTRATED WITH YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS. 
          BUT ELECTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES AND THIS IS YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK. 
          AND I THINK WE'RE GOING TO SEE MY GUESS IS ABOVE 80 PERCENT TURNOUT IN MERCED COUNTY. 
          SO THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. 
          THANK YOU. SUPERVISOR PAREIRA? WELL, SO I'LL JUST DITTO WHAT MY COLLEAGUE JUST WENT THROUGH WITH THE ELECTIONS. 
          WE HAVE A WONDERFUL ELECTIONS DEPARTMENT. 
          THEY DO A GREAT JOB. AND SO I'M THANKFUL FOR THAT HAVING, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY BEING ELECTED AND HAVING GONE THROUGH THE PROCESS. 
          I FULLY RESPECT IT. 
          AND I THINK THEY DO A WONDERFUL JOB. 
          I WOULD I WOULD LIKE TO SWITCH GEARS JUST A LITTLE BIT. 
          I SEE OUR PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR IS HERE. 
          DANA HERTFELDER. AND I KNOW I'VE DONE THIS PRIVATELY. 
          I'VE RELAYED THIS TO YOU, BUT I WANT TO DO IT PUBLICLY. 
          I HAVE A SAFETY ISSUE AND WENT IN THE LAST WEEK AND AND A LADY SENT ME AN E-MAIL AND A VIDEO OF HER GRANDMA OR HER MOM WITH IN A JAZZY TYPE WHEELCHAIR, TRYING TO NAVIGATE TO GO TO THE POST OFFICE AND WENT IN AND ONE OF THE NEIGHBORS HAD PLANTED SHRUBS THAT HAD KIND OF GROWN OUT. AND SO SHE ASKED ME IF WE COULD GET THAT FIXED BECAUSE IT'S UNSAFE FOR HER MOM TO WHO, YOU KNOW, APPEARS TO BE IN HER 60S, BUT WAS PROBABLY 90. 
          I WAS TRYING TO BE POLITE THERE. 
          BUT ANYWAYS AND SO I SENT HER A NOTE BACK SAYING THAT I WOULD TALK TO PUBLIC WORKS. 
          WE'LL LOOK INTO IT, YOU KNOW, AND HOPEFULLY NEXT WEEK WE CAN HAVE IT DONE. 
          WELL, BY THE END OF THE DAY, I'VE GOTTEN PICTURES BACK FROM OUR PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT IT WAS DONE. AND SO THANK YOU. 
          APPRECIATE THE RESPONSIVENESS. 
          I'M ALSO GETTING TONS OF THANKFUL COMMENTS FROM [INAUDIBLE] FOR HUNT ROAD AND THE QUALITY, NOT JUST THAT THE ROAD GOT FIXED, BUT THE QUALITY OF HOW IT WAS FIXED IS AWESOME. AND SO THANK YOU FOR THAT. 
          THANK YOU FOR MAKING ME LOOK GOOD TO THE CONSTITUENTS. 
          [02:10:02]
APPRECIATE IT. AND MAKE SURE TO YOU, IF YOU HAVEN'T VOTED YET, YOU GET OUT AND VOTE AND YOU CAN GO TO THE COUNTY WEBSITE AND LOOK UP AND SEE IF YOUR BALLOT HAS BEEN RECORDED. 
          AND SO IF YOU SENT IT IN AND IT DOESN'T SHOW IS RECORDED AND YOU THINK BY NOW IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN, YOU KNOW, DON'T HESITATE TO FOLLOW UP AND MAKE SURE THAT YOUR VOTE GETS COUNTED. 
          YES ACTUALLY I DID LOOK AT MINE. 
          AND MINE WAS RECORDED ALREADY. 
          SO THANK YOU. 
          SUPERVISOR LOR? THANK YOU. JUST ECHOING TO FOR FOLKS TO GO OUT AND VOTE, YOUR VOTE MATTERS, ESPECIALLY AT THE LOCAL LEVEL. AND I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE OUR ELECTION STAFF BECAUSE THEY ARE TOTALLY ON TOP OF THEIR GAME. 
          I WAS TALKING TO MY MOM ABOUT RESULTS AND SHE GOES, WELL, I HEARD THAT WE WON'T GET RESULTS FOR ANOTHER MONTH. 
          AND I'M LIKE, NO, NOT MERCED. 
          AND SO I'M REALLY PROUD ABOUT THE WORK AND THE SPEED OF OUR COUNTY STAFF. 
          AND I WANT TO THANK THEM FOR THE WORK THAT THEY DO, ESPECIALLY DURING CHALLENGING TIMES LIKE THIS. SO THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. SUPERVISOR MCDANIEL? THANK YOU, CHAIR, FIRST OF ALL, I'D LIKE TO THANK MY COLLEAGUES TODAY THERE WAS TWO ITEMS UNDER PUBLIC WORKS, NUMBER THREE AND NUMBER FIVE, IT GOES TO SAY THAT THE ATWATER MERCED EXPRESSWAY FUNDING FOR THAT, THAT'S GOING TO BE A BIG REGIONAL PROJECT THAT'S GOING TO BENEFIT ALL FOLKS IN THIS WHOLE REGION. 
          IF YOU LOOK AT OUR COMMUTING PATTERNS AND THE IMPACT WE HAVE THROUGHOUT ALL THOSE COUNTRY ROADS WITHIN THAT AREA AND ALSO WITH THE TRUCKS THAT CONTINUE TO DRIVE THROUGH THE BEACHWOOD FRANKLIN AREA RIGHT PAST THE FRANKLIN SCHOOL. 
          AND I ALSO WANT TO I KNOW WE HAD A COMMENT EARLIER TODAY ON THIS PARTICULAR ITEM SAYING THAT WE NEED THOSE ROADS NEED TO BE FIXED IN OTHER PLACES. 
          BY ALL MEANS. WE KNOW THAT THE ROADS NEED TO BE FIXED IN OTHER PLACES, BUT THIS IS IN STATUTE AND HOW WE HAVE TO SPEND THESE FUNDS FOR LARGER REGIONAL PROJECTS. 
          AND IT WENT THROUGH MCAG AS WELL AS THE EAST SIDE REGIONAL AND IT COMES BEFORE THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS. SO WE'RE SPENDING THOSE MONIES IN THAT WAY. 
          AND I WANT TO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT SUPPORT AS WELL AS THE PARK. 
          THAT'S ANOTHER BIG WIN FOR THE BEACHWOOD FRANKLIN AREA. 
          AND I APPRECIATE EVERYBODY IN SUPPORT. 
          WE CAN'T GET ANYTHING DONE UNLESS WE DO IT AS A BOARD. 
          AND I APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT ON THAT. 
          ALSO DURING THAT, EARLIER TODAY, I RECEIVED SOME SAD INFORMATION AND I'D LIKE TO ADJOURN THIS MEETING TODAY FOR A GOOD FRIEND. 
          HE WAS MY TEAMMATE IN HIGH SCHOOL. 
          HE'S BEEN A VERY CLOSE FRIEND OF MINE THROUGHOUT SINCE I MOVED HERE. 
          HE'S ONE OF THE FIRST PEOPLE I MET. 
          BUT JOHN SYKES, THE THIRD PASSED AWAY TODAY. 
          I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THE CAUSE WAS, BUT I KNOW HE'S BEEN HAVING SOME HEALTH TROUBLES. BUT HE'S ALWAYS BEEN TRUE AND BLUE AND VERY HE'S BIGGER THAN LIFE. 
          I MEAN, HE REALLY IS. 
          BUT I WENT TO HIS FACEBOOK PAGE BECAUSE FOLKS WERE TEXTING ME, TELLING ME ABOUT IT. 
          HIS LAST POST, LET ME FIND IT HERE, WHICH WAS ABOUT 13 HOURS AGO. 
          NOW, LET ME FIND IT HERE. 
          SORRY, MR. CHAIRMAN, BUT IT WAS ABOUT 13 HOURS AGO HE POSTED ON HIS SOCIAL MEDIA. 
          LET ME GO DOWN. THERE'S A LOT OF STUFF ON HERE FOR HIM. 
          I APOLOGIZE. 
          BUT IT WAS SOMETHING TO THE REGARDS OF WHEN YOU TAKE SOMETHING FOR GRANTED, YOU WILL LOSE IT. JOHN, WE NEVER TOOK YOU FOR GRANTED. 
          YOU WERE BIGGER THAN LIFE. 
          SO THANK YOU MR. CHAIR. THANK YOU. 
          BEST TO THE FAMILY. 
          COUNCIL? NOTHING? OK. CO, JIM BROWN. NO. 
          WELL, AGAIN, MY BEST TO THE FAMILIES. 
          VERY HARD. WOW. 
          TO LOSE SOMEBODY, ESPECIALLY THESE DAYS WITH SO MANY PEOPLE PASSING AWAY WITH COVID. 
          SO IT'S SINCERELY OUR BEST TO ALL THE FAMILIES. 
          AND PLEASE WEAR A MASK AND VOTE TODAY. 
          SO THAT COMMENTS I'LL ADJORN THE MEETING. 
          THANK YOU.
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.