Health officer recommends halting large gatherings to slow coronavirus spread

EPHRATA — Grant County Health Officer Alexander Brzezny is “strongly recommending” the indefinite cancellation of all gatherings of over 250 people in the county in order to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

Speaking at a meeting of the Grant County Health District board of directors Wednesday evening, Brzezny said COVID-19 is still in its early phases, in Grant County and the U.S., but that it is too late to stop. And as it progresses, it will likely overwhelm the country’s health care system.

“This is here to stay for a while,” he told board members. “We need to learn to operate our communities while this is going on.”

The highly infectious COVID-19 virus emerged in Wuhan, China, in late 2019 and has spread worldwide. Brzezny said the number of confirmed cases doubles every six days, but no one yet knows where the peak will be.

Brzezny said there are steps individuals can take to limit both their exposure and the risk they pose to others, such as frequent washing of hands, coughing or sneezing into one’s shirt sleeve, disinfecting personal devices, maintaining a six-foot space around them, and staying at home if they are sick.

“There are things we can all do,” he said, noting that he is studiously attempting to maintain a six-foot distance between him and any other person.

However, Brzezny also said dealing with the illness might require tougher action from government — involuntary isolation of sick people, travel restrictions, and even creating a “cordon sanitaire” around a place akin to what the state of New York is doing in New Rochelle.

On Tuesday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the creation of a two-mile wide containment zone in New Rochelle for two weeks beginning March 12, and has called out the state’s National Guard to help maintain order and deliver food to residents.

Brzezny noted that both the public health officer and the Grant County commissioners have emergency powers in a public health crisis to help deal with the situation. He also said people who can work at home probably should, and schools need to consider how to handle “school at home” if they need to close for several weeks.

“They shut it all down in China, and it’s coming to this in Washington,” Brzezny said. “Don’t wait until you have 100 cases in Grant County. It’s spreading right now.”

On Wednesday, organizers of the Sand Hill Crane Festival in Othello announced they were canceling this year’s event following consultation with Adams County health officials. Brzezny is also the Adams County health officer.

Brzezny said that while around 85 percent of those who become infected with the COVID-19 virus will only show very mild, flu-like or cold-like symptoms, a good portion of the remainder will require intensive care. Already, the county’s health care providers are preparing to focus on respiratory cases, Brzezny said.

District Administrator Theresa Adkinson said the outbreak has so far stretched the district’s personnel and cost the district $35,000 — money it doesn’t have to spare in its $2.5 million 2020 budget. There has been talk of state and federal aid to local health districts dealing with COVID-19, she said, but nothing concrete yet.

However, the board unanimously approved a resolution authorizing the hiring of two “temporary employees” to help the district respond to the COVID-19 outbreak, as well as enact “local rules and regulations” needed to “preserve the public health.”

“This is a huge strain,” she said. “We are in a bind. We have a responsibility to control this disease regardless of the bottom line of our budget.”

Charles H. Featherstone can be reached at cfeatherstone@columbiabasinherald.com.