REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Approve Participation in the Santa Clara County Contact Tracer Efforts by Providing Staff Support
Report
BACKGROUND
The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on economic prosperity in our community, the County, State and Nation. Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, with the recommendation of the County Health Officer, Dr. Sara Cody, has developed indicators that determine our ability to ease our Shelter in Place (SIP) orders. Contact tracing is one of the five key indicators.
The County has launched an effort to recruit community volunteers to support this vital function (Attachment 1). This will ensure that the County can quickly contain Coronavirus infections to small clusters and prevent widespread transmission that leads to exponential case growth and an overwhelmed healthcare system. In addition to volunteers, the County has reached out to all local agencies and requested support by providing staff to serve in this role.
Contact tracers will be part of the Public Health Department staff and be responsible to interview members of the public who test positive, call people that the infected person potentially contacted, enter and manage data, and identify resources needed to ensure appropriate follow up and compliance with isolation and quarantine. Staff will be trained by the County and their non-profit partner, Heluna Health.
EXISTING POLICY
Council Policy 5.1.1 - Goal 5.1H - Identify pressing health and social needs of the Sunnyvale community, encouraging appropriate agencies to address these needs in an adequate and timely manner.
Administrative Policy Chapter 1 - Article 21 - Employee Volunteer and Charitable Activities Subd. 1 City Philosophy - Sunnyvale is an engaged, concerned and contributing organization. Employee volunteer activities have a variety of potential benefits for individual staff members, for work groups, for the City as a whole and for the Community.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The action being consider...
Click here for full text