Public employees can’t skip work because of coronavirus. How can they keep safe?

Wash your hands and don’t discriminate against minorities.

That’s the essence of an email CalHR Director Eraina Ortega sent out to California government employees Tuesday as fears of the COVID19 strain of coronavirus circulated.

Government plans to help the public while protecting their employees have taken new urgency since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed this week that a Solano County resident who is the nation’s first confirmed case of coronavirus from “exposure in the community” is being treated at UC Davis Medical Center.

Some workers, such as police and correctional officers, might have to deal with the virus in the course of their work, while others spend much of their time in public places where the virus could circulate.

The City of Sacramento has been preparing for a situation like this for several weeks, said Daniel Bowers, director of the city’s Office of Emergency Management.

Employees are operating under guidance from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which says risks from the virus remain low, Bowers said.

At the same time, the federal agency says it is treating the virus’ spread as a “not if, but when,” question, Bowers said.

Gloves, eye protection

Public safety workers, including police and first responders, have been provided with personal protective equipment including gloves, eye protection and face masks, and have been instructed on assessing situations to which they respond to gauge infection risks, he said.

More generally, city offices have been outfitted with hand sanitizer and educational signs with instructions for proper hand washing (20 seconds, with soap). The city has put in place additional protocols for disinfecting public spaces, including cleaning door handles more frequently, Bowers said.

Brian Ferguson, a spokesman with the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, provided the following statement on behalf of state agencies including CalHR, the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

“The health and safety of employees is our top priority. The state has dealt with many public health situations before, we have a plan for responding to outbreaks and we are implementing it. Additionally, all departments are required to have continuity of operations and continuity of government plans. We are treating this with the urgency and seriousness required. The risk to the general public, and to state employees, remains low.”

Ortega’s email to California state employees stressed that the human resources department would keep confidential the health information of employees who might be working from home or self-quarantined.

“In response to this virus, all should remember to be respectful, fair, and without bias in our interactions with all persons,” Ortega’s email added. “Do not assume someone of a particular national origin, race, or background is more likely to have COVID-19.”

Time off for quarantined workers

Steve Crouch, director of public employees for two branches of the International Union of Operating Engineers, said state workers have been told they will receive paid administrative time off if they must stay home under quarantine. Some may work from home.

Newsom has suggested relocating a group of cruise ship passengers infected with the virus from Travis Air Force Base, which is south of Vacaville, to Fairview Developmental Center, in Costa Mesa.

State workers there who maintain HVAC and water systems have been assured that federal employees, not state employees, will manage the virus response at the center if the transfer occurs, said Crouch, whose union represents workers at the site.

The Department of Developmental Services facility has been in a state of “warm shut down,” with minimal staff on site. A spokeswoman from the agency referred questions to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC did not immediately respond to questions about how the agency would manage patients at the center.

The decision to contain people in Costa Mesa prompted a legal dispute led by the city, which asked a federal judge to block the move.

Judge Josephine L. Staton granted a temporary restraining order for the city on Monday. She said more time was needed for state and federal officials to explain their safety and health plans.

State Sen. John Moorlach, R-Costa Mesa, wrote a letter to Newsom on Tuesday asking the administration to consider alternative quarantine locations. Moorlach said that local officials are opposed to having the patients in Orange County because of its dense population that could lend themselves to a rapid spread of the virus.

Are California prisons safe?

Though there have been no reported impacts to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, experts said prison officials and staff are preparing.

Prisons are especially susceptible to outbreaks because inmates and employees are kept in such close quarters, said Steve Fama, an attorney with the Berkeley-based Prison Law Office who helps oversee health care.

“One might say that as vastly different as the environments are, an analogue might well be a cruise ship,” Fama said. “The difference here, of course, is you have people coming and going — the staff.”

Fama said California Correctional Health Care Services, the group providing health care in California’s prisons, has generally done well responding to past outbreaks, including mumps and norovirus. For now, CDCR will follow protocols spelled out in its seasonal influenza protocol, he said.

“Ultimately,” Fama said, “we’re going to have to keep our eye on it because we don’t know how this is going to go.”

This story was originally published February 27, 2020 at 1:46 PM.