The three-week anniversary of COVID-19-related school shutdowns brought a massive allocation of computers for students Monday even as San Diego County’s public health department shared its first look at how the disease breaks down across race and ethnicity.

The region hit 1,404 confirmed cases on the first day of the work week, but deaths held steady at 19 for the first time in more than a week.

County records show that March 31 has so far been the deadliest day of the pandemic in San Diego County with five people — four men and one woman ranging in age from 71 to 98 — succumbing to the disease. All told, only three of the 19 have been younger than age 66.

The trend illustrates the point, noted county Supervisor Nathan Fletcher during the health department’s daily COVID briefing, that those among us with more seniority are at the greatest risk of the most severe consequences. He pleaded with the public not to forget the most vulnerable.


“The simple act of each and every one of us personally reaching out to someone that we know and offering them some help and assistance would certainly go a long way and be greatly appreciated,” Fletcher said.

Health care workers continued to speak out about what they have said for weeks is a dearth of personal protective equipment for those working on the front lines. Monday, it was members of the Service Employees International Union 221, which represents thousands of county employees, including many health care workers, who said they still don’t have the supplies they need.

Word of a worker in the county’s own emergency operations center testing positive for COVID-19, which was confirmed Monday, illustrated the risk, as did a Metropolitan Transit System minibus driver who also tested positive.

Finding ways to protect such workers continued to be a priority in the community.


Basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar stopped by Scripps Health in San Diego on Monday to donate needed equipment. As fans of the man who used to dominate with his skyhook might suspect, the seven footer didn’t show up with gloves or masks. He brought goggles, telling hospital personnel he hoped they would look as good wearing them “as he did when he played.”

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar donated goggles to Scripps healthcare worker fighting COVID-19. (Scripps Health)

Demographics

For the first time, the county shared a race and ethnicity breakdown of confirmed COVID cases across the county. Like the zip code breakdowns released last week and city-of-residence breakdowns released several weeks ago, the information does not paint a full picture.

Health providers still are not testing everyone with symptoms, so the breakdowns are all skewed toward those with symptoms severe enough to be hospitalized and toward those in high-risk groups, including those with chronic diseases and those in high-risk jobs such as health care workers and first responders.


Not counting 405 of the 1,404 confirmed cases for whom such information was not collected, 49 percent of cases were white, 30.7 percent were Latino, 10.4 percent were Asian, 5.9 percent were African American, 1.6 percent were Pacific Islander, and 1.7 percent were of two or more races or ethnicities.

That breakdown, Fletcher noted, looks familiar.

“This tracks very closely with the broader demographics of San Diego County,” Fletcher said.



Schools

San Diego Unified School District began distributing some of 40,000 Chromebooks on Monday for students to participate in distance learning.


It is expected to be the biggest laptop distribution effort in the county. Several other school districts have already distributed smaller numbers of Chromebooks either at distribution sites or by mail.

San Diego Unified is spreading out the laptop distribution over the course of three weeks at seven high schools to allow for physical distancing.

Families can find their pick-up time and location here. Families are assigned pick-up locations and time windows based on what schools their children attend and students’ last names.

Everyone who arrives at the Chromebook pick-up sites is being asked to wear a face covering over their nose and mouth.


Families must also bring their child’s school ID card or one of the following written on a piece of paper: their child’s student ID number, or child’s date of birth and address. Middle and high school students can pick up a laptop without an adult present, according to the district.

Families can drive up or walk up. Families who walk should not bring more people than are “absolutely necessary” and are expected to stay six feet apart from other families.

Chromebooks must be returned to the school district at the end of the school year.

Union speaking out

A small survey of San Diego County front-line health care workers found that a majority said they weren’t receiving the resources they needed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 within their own ranks.


The study, conducted between March 29 and April 4 with 70 participants, highlighted a lack of access to N95 respirator masks, surgical masks, eye protection and even hand sanitizer.

Exam gloves, said Shane Brinton, chief of staff for SEIU Local 221, are the only item that front line employees feel they have in adquate supply. The union represents thousands of county employees including nurses, clinicians and other healthcare workers.

”In every other area from eye protection, to N95 masks, to surgical masks and even something as simple as hand sanitizer, it appears the county was not prepared and does not have these resources,” Brinton said. “Or at least it is not getting them out to the frontlines.”

Brinton said the report also indicates that the county is failing to follow CalOSHA’s mandatory Aerosol Transmissible Disease (ATD) standard, which requires employers in healthcare settings to provide respiratory protection to employees.


Similar complaints have arisen from pretty much every hospital in the region in the last few weeks as facilities work to restrict the use of many supplies, stating that they don’t want to burn through what’s in the supply closet before an expected surge of hospitalized patients arrives.

Top medical personnel with the county did not comment on SEIU’s survey Monday afternoon, saying they hadn’t reviewed it yet.

Rob Sills, director of the county’s Medical Operations Center, commented more broadly on the county’s supply of personal protective equipment, saying he is optimistic about the county’s supply of N95 respirators and simple surgical masks, but the number of face shields and non-permeable gowns are critically low in the county and state.

During a videoconferencing “speak out” event with about 100 SEIU members Monday, some county nurses who work in the county psychiatric hospital and the Sheriff’s Department’s Detention Facilities, said staffing shortages and access to N95 masks were proving a challenge.


Amanda Dehart, a San Diego County psychiatric registered nurse, said some of the nurses are receiving N95 masks in incorrect sizes, and she and her coworkers are being asked to use masks for four shifts before receiving replacements.

June Cuaresma, a registered nurse at the San Diego Central Jail, similarly said they are being asked to reuse N95 masks until they are thoroughly worn out. She said although there is a worldwide shortage of the masks, that does not excuse the county for failing to provide adequate personal protective equipment to its employees.

“We do this because we are healthcare workers, healthcare professionals, who live our lives in service to others,” Cuaresma said. “All that we ask is that we will be provided the tools we need to do this as safely and effectively as possible and for us to be able to go home to our families safe.”

In its report, the union recommended the county use all available resources, including the county’s reserve funds, to acquire additional N95 respirator masks and that the county lobby state and federal governments to use emergency powers to direct the private sector to increase production of the respirators as well.


The union also recommended that the county provide hazard pay to all personnel required to work during the COVID-19 pandemic.