COVID-19: Ending the Emergency
February 21, 2023
March 10, 2020
• First three cases of travel associated
COVID-19 in Long Beach
• Long Beach declared a local health
emergency
March 14, 2020
• First community spread COVID -19
case in Long Beach
A Look Back...
2 COVID-19 Realities
• To date, 1,380 people have died as a
result of this disease, and at least one
case of COVID-19 has been reported in
Long Beach every day since March 15,
2020.
• COVID-19 is still causing severe
disease. Since November 2022,
more than 350 Long Beach residents
were hospitalized.
In the three years (1,071 days)
since our first case...
•Provided guidance and assisted in outbreak management and control in over 300 businesses, 300 Long-Term Care facilities, and 380 Schools/Daycares.
COVID-19 Response
5 Testing capacity grew
from 30 to 10,000 people per
day.
Fixed and mobile vaccine access, including
a mega site with the ability
to vaccinate 6,000 people per day.
Provided 1,114,453 tests
and 352,255 vaccines
through City-run sites.
Provided guidance and assisted in
over 300 businesses outbreaks, 300 long-
term care facility outbreaks,
and 380 school/daycare outbreaks.
•approximately 30 people per day. We now have capacity to test 10,000 people per day. •
COVID-19 Response
6 Established data dashboards
that provided real-time data.
Monitored and detected
emerging variants.
Published in the
CDC's Morbidity and Mortality
weekly Report (MMWR).
Environmental Health Specialists and support staff
partnered with Code Enforcement and Business
Licensing staff and formed the Venue Task Force
to help businesses comply with Health Orders.
COVID-19 Response
Established:
• 75,000 square foot Local Distribution Site
• 5 temporary and permanent shelters for people experiencing homelessness, serving hundreds of people
• 2 isolation and quarantine sites
Provided surge support to local hospitals:
• 6 mobile hospital modules deployedto hospitals
• 5 mass fatality trailers deployed tohospitals
• Distributed 350,000 pieces of PPE to healthcare entities The Venue Task Force achieved compliance with the Health Order:
• Approximately 2,500 hours were dedicated to respond to complaints • 2,400 door-to-door visits were made to meet with food establishments, publicpools and health fitness centers to educate people on safe operation practices under the Health Order
7 Workforce & Staffing
9 Workforce & Staffing
Engaged employees from across the City in
response to the pandemic and shifted practices to
meet the need and safety protocols.
• Declared City employees disaster services
workers
• Reassigned 230 City staff
• Provided regular testing to City Employees
• Ensured frontline workers were vaccinated early
to ensure continuity of operations
• Enacted Emergency Teleworking/Hybrid Work
Policy
• Provided technology and supports to allow
for large-scale telecommuting
10 Workforce & Staffing
Managed Surge Staffing
• 50 All Hazards Incident Management Team
• 145 Travel Nurses
• 110 California National Guard personnel
• 50 LBFD Lifeguards (rotating)
• 235 Reassigned City staff
Managed Volunteer Efforts
• 1,400 Medical Reserve Corp (MRC)
• 60 CERT Volunteers
• 345 Nursing students (CSULB & LBCC)
• 800 West Coast University nursing students (MRC)
125 HEROs (Healthcare & Emergency Response Opportunities) work experience participants were employed since the beginning of pandemic (more than 18,000 hours of service)
Resources Provided
Resources Provided
Provided resources and supports to businesses
• Provided PPE to more than 1,200 businesses
• Provided education on health orders and safety protocols to nearly 10,000 businesses
• Provided 5,647,000 pieces of PPE citywide, including masks, gowns, wipes, and hand sanitizer.
Opened food facilities to overcome economic hardship;
• Amended the Health Order to allow bars to open and safely serve alcohol and catered food
• Waived the annual health permit and plan check fees of food facilities that were not able to stay open for business
12 Resources Provided
Provided resources to families with young children
• Nearly 70,000 packs of diapers
• More than 42,000 packs of wipes
• Nearly 16,000 cans of formula
• 18,400 books and educational supplies
• $273,000 in funding to 157 early childhood providers to help them stay open Provided resources specific to older adults and homebound individuals • Supported more than 6,000 callers through the LB Resource Line • Delivered nearly 80,552 meals and 20,578 grocery bags/boxes • Provided supports to more than 21,000 households through the CARES Act • Initiated Neighbor to Neighbor program to support older adults 13 Resources Provided
Provided direct relief and support to communities through CARES Act programs and, more recently, with the Long Beach Recovery Act. The Health Department has directed investments to:
• 110 older adults were provided intensive case management services with a public health nurse or licensed clinical social worker through the Healthy Aging Center Senior Links program
• 1,582 older adults received referrals and Supportive Services through the Healthy Aging Center
• 600 basic needs supply kits were provided to older adults at Senior Centers in LB o An additional $20,000 went towards the purchase of leisure & recreation items (puzzles, playing cards, soft-grip hand weights, craft kits, etc.) distributed directly to older adults at Senior Centers in Long Beach during facility/program closures • 268 Black-identifying Long Beach residents were connected to affirming mental health services
14 Business Support
Resources Provided
Implemented four small business grant programs:
• Small Business Transition & Technology Small
Grant Programs
• Outdoor Dining Grant
• Commercial Rental Assistance Grant
• Business License Tax and Fee Grant for Full-
Service Restaurants
o Total grant funding issued: $5,042,428
o Total grants issued: 1,053
o Total unique businesses supported: 1,006
16 Business Support
17 Implemented citywide temporary parklets with a focus on safety.
• Citywide effort to support the economic recovery for
businesses amid social -distancing Health Order
• First temporary parklets were installed in May 2020
• At the program’s peak:
o 124 temporary parklet locations citywide
o 136 participating business citywide
Currently:
o 8 permanent parklets constructed as a result of the
program
o 24 in the permanent parklet permit application process • Ensured proper installation of barricades and safe pedestrian passage, reviewed structural and stormwater drainage
elements and utility conflicts
• The temporary parklet program expired on January 30, 2023.
Leading the way:
COVID-19 Response
Efforts
z
Leading The Way: COVID-19 Response Efforts
The City's COVID-19 response was at the forefront in:
• Vaccinating first responders
• Identifying and messaging residents eligible for vaccine and expanding vaccine eligibility
• Establishing VaxLB, which registered 140,000total
community members
• Mass testing and vaccination
• Mobile and in-home vaccination and testingfor high-
risk populations
• Vaccine verification and testing mandates for
City employees
• Vaccine verification and testingmandates for
educational institutions
• Implementation of the indoor masking requirementand
masking at outdoor mega events
19 Addressing COVID-19
Disparities
COVID-19 Data Leading Our Way
21 Led with data to inform situational awareness,
reopening measures, vaccination sites and public
communications.
• Mobilized an 8-staff person data team to develop a
public-facing COVID-19 dashboard to
communicate community outcomes.
o The dashboard disaggregates data by zip code,
age, gender and race / ethnicity to convey
disparate COVID-19 impacts.
o Addition of 'Indicators' and 'vaccines' pages
to guide reopening compared to State of CA
measures and to trackvaccine adoption
rates across the City
• Developed internal reportsfor City leadership to
track PPE distribution, compare to nearby
jurisdictions, and identify impact to City staff
Addressing COVID-19 Disparities
• To address the digital divide, set up a robust COVID-19 Information Line in March 2020
o Staffed with people equipped to handle calls in multiple languages o Assisted older adults, monolingual individuals and those with limited access to technology with making appointments for testing and vaccine 22 Addressing COVID-19 Disparities
• Provided accommodations to families and those with
disabilities, access and functional needs at the mass
vaccination clinics
o Designated sensory-friendly spaces
o Implemented a Vaccine Picture Exchange
Communication System (PECS) for individuals with access and functional needs
• Convened a vaccine equity workgroup with various
stakeholders, including community-based organizations,
healthcare providers and City departments
o Utilized data to develop outreach and communication
strategies for areas with high case rates and low
vaccination rates
o Utilized census tract-level data to deliver pop-up
vaccination events to areas with high case rates and low vaccination rates, providing nearly 9,000 vaccines
23 Addressing COVID-19 Disparities
• Implemented mobile vaccination team to provide
in-home vaccinations for those with disabilities,
access and functional needs, mobility issues and
those at high risk, providing nearly7,000 in-home
vaccinations
• Conducted nearly 23,000 COVID-19 tests through
the mobile testing team
o More than 600 of these were in-home testing
appointments for those with
disabilities, access and functional needs,
mobility issues and those at high risk
o Pop-up events in partnership with community-
based organizations, pop- ups in areas with
high case rates, businesses, congregate living
facilities and at special events
24 Communicating with
City Residents
General
COVID-19 Line
Total Calls:
70,553
Made available in English, Khmer, Spanish, Tagalog
COVID-19
Vaccine Line
Total Calls: 21,459
Communicating with City Residents
From March 2020 to present:
26 Made available in English, Khmer, Spanish, Tagalog
Communicating with City Residents
From March 2020 to present:
27 Press
Conferences
COVID-19 Press
Releases & Updates
COVID-19
Internal Updates
35090+ 700 +
Data Dashboard Updates
700 +
Port of Long Beach &
Health Department
Collaboration
29 Port of Long Beach & Health Department Collaboration To maintain Port operations during the
pandemic, the Health Department created
a mobile team to test and vaccinate Port
workers and international crews.
• More than 11,000 vaccines administered by
the Port Vaccination Team on both the
Long Beach and Los Angeles sides of the
Port
• Provided more than 27,000 tests to Port
workers
COVID-19
Present Day
COVID-19 Present Day
As of February 10, 2023
• 161,880 Cases
• 5,976 Hospitalized
• 1,387 Deaths
In 2021, COVID-19 was
the third leading cause
of death in the U.S.
after heart disease and
all cancers.
Year Cases Hospitalizations Deaths
2020 36,564 1,786 439
2021 44,526 1,864 643
2022 78,633 2,169 288
2023 2,157 157 17
31 COVID-19 by the Numbers
Winter 2022-2023 (Data as of 2/10/23)
• Case Rate: 12.7/100,000
• Positivity Rate: 7.4%
• Current Hospitalizations:16
• Area hospitals: 44
• 2023 Deaths: 17
COVID-19 activity in Long Beach has
remain low this winter season. Cases
increased the first week of December
2022. Since then, cases have been
steadily declining.
32 0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
20-Oct 30-Oct 9-Nov 19-Nov 29-Nov 9-Dec 19-Dec 29-Dec 8-Jan 18-Jan 28-Jan 7-Feb COVID Winter Surge Comparison (Seven-day average case counts) in Long Beach
2021-2022 Season 2022-2023 Season
COVID by the Numbers
2020-2021
Winter Surge
2021 Summer
Surge (Delta)
2021-2022
Winter Surge
(Omicron)
2022 Summer 2022-2023
Winter
Case Rate (per
100,000) 163.3 37.9 475.4 65.3 38.4
Positivity Rate 17.4% 8.7% 29.5% 18.2% 15.4%
Area
hospitalizations 598 143 367 106 108
Hospitalization
Rate
(per 100,000)
35.6 11.4 25.1 13.1 11.2
Weekly Deaths 84 11 40 7 9
Indictors during the peak of each surge
33 • Workplace Outbreaks
• Winter Season 2021-2022: 77Workplace Outbreaks
o Winter Season 2021-2022: 77
o Winter Season 2021-2022: 25
o Winter Season 2021-2022: 25
COVID-19 by the Numbers
The Number of outbreaks have significantly decreased since the Winter 2021 -2022 season and continue to remain low.
34 Workplace Outbreaks
o Winter Season
2021-2022: 77
o Winter Season
2022-2023: 25
School Outbreaks
(K-12 & ECE)
o Winter Season
2021-2022: 238
o Winter Season
2022-2023: 30
Long Term Care and
Assisted Living Facility
Outbreaks
o Winter Season
2021-2022: 65
o Winter Season
2022-2023: 32
COVID-19 by the numbers
• As of February 10, 2023, the
City of Long Beach Employee
Occupational Health Clinic
has:
o Contact traced (screened) -
7,626 employees for COVID
symptoms or exposures
▪ 2,967 isolation
▪ 2,126 quarantine
• The City Safety and Risk
Management teams continue
to manage the online
employee COVID-19 contact
tracing intake portal which
allows for streamlining case
management.
35 36
19 Vaccination Rates
COVID-19 Vaccination Rates
* Data as of February 10, 2023
37 COVID-19 Vaccination Status by Age
* Data as of February 10, 2023
38 COVID-19 Vaccination Status by Race/Ethnicity
Black and Latinx residents in Long Beach have continued to have the lowest vaccination rates compared to other racial/ethnic groups and Black and Latinx males have lower rates than females. 39 * Data as of February 10, 2023
COVID-19 Vaccination Status in Long Beach by Zip Code
Zip codes 90813 and 90805 have the lowest rates of fully vaccinated and boosted individuals.
40 * Data as of February 10, 2023
Overall Effectiveness of COVID-19 Vaccination in California Case rate comparison by
vaccination status
Hospitalization rate comparison by
vaccination status
Death rate comparison by vaccination
status
State-level data from December 1, 2022, to February 13, 2023, display the stark contrast for unvaccinated people compared with their vaccinated counterparts.
Data support vaccine effectiveness in preventing hospitalization and death. 41 Looking
Forward
COVID-19 Testing & Vaccinations
• Free testing and vaccinations will continue to be offered by the Health Department at the following locations through the end of 2023:
o El Dorado Park
o MLK Park
o Pop-up Clinics at Ramona Park and Houghton Park
o Cal State Long Beach (Open Mondays and Wednesdays)
o Cabrillo High School (Vaccine available only on Fri/Sat) o The schedule is available on the website: www.longbeach.gov/vaxlb • For those with insurance, they can access 8 test kits per month for free o https://www.covid.gov/tests; No co-pays for testing
• The Health Department has a cache of rapid antigen tests to distribute to CBO’s, LTCFs, congregate settings, schools, etc.
• Eventually, testing kits will need to be bought or accessed via insurance 43 COVID-19 Vaccination
• COVID-19 Vaccines have been added to the regular immunization schedule for children and adults
• Moderna indicated they will continue to offer their vaccines free of charge • The federal agencies are determining the future schedule of COVID -19 vaccines and transitioning future iterations of the vaccines to be bivalent (similar to flu vaccine compositions that include several strains) • The federal government has purchased a large supply of Covid 19 vaccines; there is currently no funding for future purchases
• Eventually COVID -19 vaccination will be transitioned into routine vaccination processes, including in healthcare offices and pharmacies 44 Response Efforts
• Nationwide, statewide, and locally, transitioning from emergency operations to day-to- day duties
• Data dashboards will transition to being updated weekly instead of daily • Surveillance of COVID-19 transitioning at the federal, state, and local level from emergency to routine communicable disease surveillance
Health Department Emergency and Communicable Disease Staffing • Grant funding for COVID response, which funds 160 employees (44 FT, 116 PT), will be expiring by July, 2024. This will impact:
o Testing and vaccine sites
o Case investigators and health educators
o Surveillance
o School outbreak team
o Healthcare associated infection team (hospitals and skilled nursing facilities) o Business outbreak team
o ¾ mobile testing and vaccine teams
o Health will work to develop a staffing transition plan and additional funding opportunities 45 Reduction in
benefits
Medi-Cal and Medicare
Medi-Cal Continuous Coverage
• Before the pandemic, people on Medi-Cal had to renew their coverage every year, but the process has been frozen for the past two years because of the pandemic • This flexibility ends April 1; Medi-Cal recipients will receive Renewal Applications by mail; failure to return the application can mean being disenrolled from Medi-Cal • LBDHHS is working with recipients to complete paperwork • Participating in Department of Health Services Coverage Ambassadors • Medicaid requirement for no cost sharing for COVID-19 tests and treatments ends September 30, 2023
COVID-19 Uninsured Group Program
• The COVID-19 Uninsured Group program was implemented by the Department of Health Care Services in Aug 2020 and covers COVID-19 testing, vaccination, treatment and hospitalization at no cost to the individual
• The COVID-19 Uninsured Group Program will end on the last day of the calendar month in which the federal COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) ends (May) 47 Medi-Cal and Medicare
Medicare Beneficiaries
• Medicare beneficiaries will continue to have access to COVID-19 vaccines, including boosters, at no cost under Part B.
• Medicare beneficiaries will face cost sharing requirements for most COVID-19 treatments, including monoclonal antibody treatments, when the PHE ends.
• Beneficiaries in traditional Medicare will face the full cost of at-home tests when the PHE ends. • Beneficiaries in traditional Medicare will continue to receive clinical diagnostic testing for COVID-19 at no cost once the PHE ends, since Medicare covers their diagnostic lab testing under Part B, but they will face cost sharing for testing-related services.
Private Insurance
• Commercial out of network coverage will end Nov 11
48 Medi-Cal and Medicare
CalFRESH
• During COVID, CalFRESH benefits
were increased to help meet
food needs.
• The final emergency allotments
will be is issued in March
2023 (for February 2023).
49 Common
Misperceptions
Regarding Ending
the Emergency
Common Misperceptions
• Still killing 450 people per day in the US
• Vaccination, testing and treatment
infrastructure now in place
• Layered prevention strategies remain
important
• Important to make decisions based on
you and your loved one's risk level and
risk tolerance
51 MISPERCEPTION: The emergency is
ending because COVID-19 is no
longer a problem
Common Misperceptions, cont.
MISPERCEPTION: Because the emergency is ending, I don’t have to wear a mask
• All Californians must still follow the California Masking Guidelines • Currently masking is required in healthcare settings
MISPERCEPTION: Because the emergency is over, there won’t be any more health orders
• The Health Officer has authority to implement health orders irrespective of a declaration of an emergency
• § 120175: Each health officer knowing or having reason to believe that any case of the diseases made reportable by regulation of the department, or any other contagious, infectious or communicable disease exists, or has recently existed, within the territory under his or her jurisdiction, shall take measures as may be necessary to prevent the spread of the disease or occurrence of additional cases 52 Response Efforts: Vaccines Still Matter
53 Anissa Davis, City Health Officer
Health and Human Services Dept.
[email protected]
Kelly Colopy, Director
Health and Human Services Dept.