Mono County COVID-19 News and Updates: March 23
The Surgeon General says… Mammoth Hospital projections are bad, MLT Food Bank opens, Food store hours, and Mono County’s reissued lodging…
The U.S.Surgeon General says…, Mammoth Hospital projections are bad, MLT Food Bank opens, Food store hours, and Mono County’s reissued lodging ban
By Monica Prelle
The U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams spoke to the American public today honestly and directly — “This week it’s going to get bad.”
“There are a lot of people who are doing the right things, but unfortunately we are finding out that a lot of people think this can’t happen to them,” Dr. Adams said. “Everyone needs to be taking the right steps, right now, and that means stay at home.”
Local projections are no different. Considering what the global medical community knows about the spread of the coronavirus, Mammoth Hospital estimates that the number of people infected will double every four days. With that rate of infection projected, Mono County will have two positives by Wednesday, eight by April 2, and 32 by April 10. More than 500 patients could be infected by the end of April if the spread of coronavirus is not slowed.
Mammoth Hospital has 17 beds and the capacity to have four people on life support at one time. Mono County Public Health Officer Dr. Tom Boo says that the pattern in Mammoth and Bishop is to transfer critically ill patients to Reno or Southern California for higher levels of care. The fear is — with already overcrowded hospitals there won’t be any beds available for transfer.
According to Mammoth Hospital Chief Medical Officer Dr. Craig Burrows, the medical community around the world was previously in a mentality of containment, but the reality is, today, in Mammoth and around the world, we are well past the point of containment.
“We all have to act as if we are being exposed or we have been exposed at some point in the last couple of weeks or months,” Dr. Burrows said. “Testing people to figure out if they have it or not has lost a lot of its value.”
The goal is to slow the spread, Dr. Burrows says, through distancing.
Since test kits are limited and Mono County does not have a lab, the hospital is only testing patients who have symptoms and are sick enough to be admitted to the hospital, health care workers who have been exposed and have symptoms, and patients who are referred by the public health department.
Mammoth Hospital and Mono County Public Health published an online guide to preventing illness and what to do if you start to feel sick.
Mono County is currently reporting one positive case, 19 negative, and 33 tests pending; a total of 53 tests have been administered. Inyo County is currently reporting zero positive cases, 18 negative, 16 tests pending, and 34 total tests administered. According to John Hopkins University data, the U.S. currently has the third highest number of infections and is increasing at the highest rate of any country.
Now, four days in to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s stay at home order, all essential businesses in Mono County (should) have closed. A large majority of service industry workers were laid-off from their jobs and in response, a number of community services are available to residents.
Cars lined the frontage road on Main Street this morning for the Mammoth Lakes Tourism Food Bank, which opened today. Volunteers directed traffic to five parking spots where another volunteer asks where you work and how many people are in your household. A bag is then set on a table for safe pick-up.
“We made it through the end of the day but supplies dwindled pretty close to the end,” MLT Executive Director John Urdi said. “Things were chaotic, but we were able to take care of everyone and learned a lot that we will use to make things smoother and better moving forward.”
MLT ordered another $10,000 of food (valued at $25,000), which is being purchased at wholesale from US Food Service. The food will be bagged tomorrow and ready for distribution again on Wednesday. Urdi says that the program will continue for as long as necessary.
The food bank is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., and 3 to 5 p.m. at the Promenade (previously known as the Luxury Outlet Mall) next to Black Velvet Coffee on Main Street.
Despite what the corporate website says, Vons Mammoth is open 24 hours in order to give shoppers more space and flexibility. Seniors-only hours are from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. The store is receiving shipments daily and shelves are full, but some items, like toilet paper are limited; one per customer. Grocery Outlet is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.
Bleu Handcrafted Foods and Market is offering normal in-store shopping from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and is also offering order by phone, curbside pick-up and home delivery through Doorstep Diners. Beer and wine growlers are sold to-go. Day-old bread and fresh produce that is “not pretty enough to sell” is available for free in a basket upfront. Bleu is also starting a free community soup program on Tuesdays, while supplies last.
Sierra Sundance is stocking wellness supplements, natural remedies and herbs as much as possible, but some manufacturers are short on supplies. Current inventory also includes produce and bulk goods. Hours may change, but as of now, the store is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.
Mono County Public Health reissued and expanded its lodging ban yesterday with even stricter directives in place. The order is now throughout Mono County and restricts short term nightly rentals of hotels, motels, and condominiums.
“The point of it is to discourage visitation and slow the spread of COVID-19,” Supervisor Stacy Corless said. “There are very limited exceptions for housing local people in need, essential workers who must stay in our area, and COVID-19 mitigation.”
There are currently 300 listings available on Airbnb for this coming weekend in Mammoth. Most hosts responded to reservation requests saying that the units were unavailable and they were in the process of taking their listings down. Airbnb did not respond for comment.
“Not only is it illegal — it is immoral,” a Mammoth resident who has a rental property said. “People need to do the right thing.”
Recommended:
“Containment becomes realistic only when Americans realize that working together is the only way to protect themselves and their loved ones.” The Virus Can be Stopped, but Only with Harsh Steps, Experts Say by Donald G. McNeil Jr., for the New York Times
Social Distancing is a term that is getting thrown around a lot. Mammoth Hospital Chief Medical Officer Dr. Craig Burrows explains why that is so important here in Mono County. Please watch:
Monica Prelle is a Mammoth Lakes-based freelance journalist.