Top Sacramento County officials held a meeting where few wore masks. Now one has COVID-19
Sacramento County Executive Navdeep Gill held an hours-long indoor meeting of department heads Thursday where many in attendance did not wear masks – a violation of his county government’s coronavirus health order, The Sacramento Bee has learned.
One person who attended that meeting has since tested positive for COVID-19.
The meeting took place at the headquarters of the County Probation department at 8754 Folsom Blvd. Approximately 40 to 45 people attended for a gathering of county department heads that began at 8:30 a.m. and ended at around 2:30 p.m., said a source who spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to comment on the matter.
Only about a dozen of those who attended the meeting wore masks, sources said. Those sources said this was not the first meeting county executives have held that appeared to defy county health safety rules. Other county meetings have been held virtually via Zoom.
County health chief Dr. Peter Beilenson confirmed the incident via text Sunday afternoon when contacted by The Bee.
Beilenson, who attended the meeting and said he wore a mask, said in the text that everyone at the meeting has been notified of the positive coronavirus test and are being tested. Ten people who were sitting nearest the infected person have been told to quarantine at home.
Beilenson confirmed that “many were not wearing masks” and that social distancing was occurring, but not entirely. His text indicated people were socially distanced “to a large extent.” Beilenson declined further comment. A source said proper social distancing was not practiced at times during lunch and in individual conversations.
The person who tested positive was not wearing a mask during much of the meeting, a source said. Gill, who is the top executive in the county government and called the meeting, also reportedly did not wear a mask.
County spokeswoman Kim Nava issued an emailed statement Sunday saying the meeting was held in a large conference room.
“There was appropriate social distancing and a majority of meeting participants came into the meeting wearing face coverings. Some took them off once they were seated and the meeting was in progress. All participants were seated at least six feet apart from each other. The County Executive was at the front of the room and at least ten feet away from other meeting attendees.
“On Thursday evening, one of the participants received a positive coronavirus test and Health Services was immediately notified. All meeting participants were contacted and those seated near that individual have quarantined consistent with State and CDC guidelines.”
Violates Sacramento COVID-19 order
The meeting defied coronavirus safety rules and guidelines that Sacramento County health officials have laid down for the general public. Under the existing state guidelines, residents are required to wear masks when they are in contact with other members of the public who are not in their household. The county rules require wearing masks during indoor group gatherings.
County health officials also have repeatedly urged people not to gather in groups of any size indoors, saying such gatherings are risky for causing the virus to spread.
That risk was driven home two weeks ago in Washington, D.C., when President Donald Trump and more than two dozen associates became infected after they gathered for a series of indoor and outdoors gatherings at the While House and in the Rose Garden, where many did not wear face masks.
Beilenson, who is in charge of the county’s public health effort, has repeatedly insisted publicly that indoor gatherings of non-family members are to be completely avoided.
“This pandemic relies so much on individual responsibility for the greater good of all of us,” said County Supervisor Phil Serna, who typically wears a mask at supervisor meetings. “When people choose not to wear a mask or to avoid social distancing directives, there’s no other conclusion to draw than they don’t take seriously the threat this virus presents.”
The agenda for the meeting was not thought to be urgent among those who attended, a source said. There were oral reports given about county goals. There was discussion about the progress of county committees made up of county department heads. But a source said the feeling among some who attended was that the information shared could have been included in a memo or shared on a conference call.
Though some who attended the meeting were “freaked out,” and at least two department heads asked for and received permission to miss the meeting, there was no discussion of concerns that the meeting might be dangerous, a source said.
In recent months, Gill was harshly criticized for taking federal dollars meant for COVID-19 relief and using $104 million of it to support the payroll of the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office. It was only after this information became public that the county committed $45 million to the county Health department. But that was four months after the county had received $181 million in federal funding that was explicitly intended for COVID-19 relief.
This story was originally published October 18, 2020 at 3:21 PM.
