terrors. we see again, across -- -- >> you're watching coping with covid-19 with chris manners. >> hi. i'm chris manners, and you're watching coping with covid-19. today, my guest is an infeshttious disease specialist and leading the covid disease tracing team for the san francisco department of public health. she's here to talk about the city's contact tracing program and how to slow the spread of the virus. doctor, welcome to the show. >> thank you so much for having me. >> can we begin by talking about when the city's contact tracing program began and what are the services? >> sure. so we began contact tracing on the first day that we had a

case here in san francisco, so that was march 5 of this year. the purpose of our program is to provide comprehensive services to people who are close to and diagnosed with covid. this includes anyone who's newly diagnosed gets a phone call from our trained health professionals in which we talk more about their diagnosis, make sure that they have accurate information. we then go into understanding a little bit more about their symptoms and trying to better understand when they first may have become infectious to others. as part of that, we will then talk about anyplaces they may have visited for an extended period of time and people they were in contact with. we then seek to better understand the individuals that they were in touch with by collecting names and phone numbers so that then we can reach out to these individuals and make sure that they have the information that they need in order to quarantine and get

access to immediate testing for covid. >> how does the program work? how many people are actually acting as contact tracers, and what do they do? >> so we had over 100 people activated with the city to provide active contact tracing actions for san franciscans. so this team is highly trained in being able to provide everyone diagnosed with covid with information about what this means to them and make sure that they know the resources that are available to them so that they can safely isolate. this team then also has worked with several social workers as well as other city departments to make sure that this individual has wraparound services in order to complete their isolation in quarantine. in general, we have staff that

represents all diverse backgrounds in san francisco, and they are also able to provide linguistically appropriate services to make sure we are able to meet the needs of the people being diagnosed. >> that's great. when we run a huge program in the mission district, what role did contact tracing play in that effort. was there anything notable? >> so previous to this pandemic, san francisco public health has been tracking communities disproportionately affected by covid-19. we provided a large community-based testing campaign in the mission. as part of this campaign, we found that while latinos made up 44% of the people who were tested, they made up 95% of people who ended up being diagnosed. we also found that 90% of the people who were diagnosed with covid-19 could not work from home, suggesting that this

disease is impacting communities that may be unable to work from home or have the resources to stay at home during their shelter in place order. so as part of these activities, it's really a reflection of what we're seeing citywide in that we need to make sure that people who are at the greatest risk for covid have the resources needed in order to take time off of work as necessary, as they're diagnosed with covid. >> i think as we've seen in new york, density is a huge factor, so it makes sense that there would be quite a few cases in the mission district. >> yeah. we did find that the median size of the household was greater than three, and the majority of people who had been diagnosed with covid, so this does go back to the fact that covid is really likely to transmit within households, and we need to make sure that

households have the information that they need if somebody is diagnosed with covid, and that they can appropriately cleanup, clean their spaces, and they can self-isolate, and as necessary, they have access to city funded hotel rooms where they can safely isolate or quarantine for the required period of time and reduce their risk of spreading covid to others. >> just to confirm, these tests are completely free, right? what kind of turnaround do we have? >> so fortunately, san francisco offers free testing to san franciscans who have even one symptom consistent with covid-19. what you need to know about this testing is that you have to schedule it on-line, but that you don't need any medical insurance, and you don't need a doctor's note. in addition, testing is available to all san franciscans regardless of immigration status. you'll be able to get your test

results in just one to five days after getting a test, and you'll get follow up through the health department if you're found to have covid-19, including access to all of our tracing activities that i've talked about today. so if you have an opportunity to test for covid, i recommend that you go for it because it's important that we all really understand that testing is part of our new normal and a really important pillar for our fight against covid transmission here in san francisco. >> now, some communities have been responding differently to the virus. some have been asking their citizens to keep a diary so they can remember who they've seen, while others are encouraged to download an app to their phone so they can keep track of tracing. have we considered any of these steps. >> so a major part of tracing is to talk to someone about where they've been and who they've been in contact with

prior to developing symptoms or on the date of their test. this requires jogging somebody's memory, and as we all know, it can be hard to recall all of the things that one has participated in days -- in the past several days. so we recommend that everyone pay attention to what they're doing as we lift our shelter in place orders, and we are carefully looking at the possibility of being able to support and being able to understand where someone may have been and who else may have been exposed to covid. but as part of that, we're keeping careful caution and doing our due diligence to ensure that people's privacy and confidentiality is maintained. this is the number one priority for us in the department of public health. we want anything that we offer through an app to be supplementing instead of

replacing our currently contact tracing efforts. >> so it seems like any app-based program the city might offer would be on a strictly opt-in basis? >> absolutely. we would want people to choose whether or not they want to participate in any of these app-based programs, and it would strictly be voluntarily if they were diagnosed with covid and they wanted to share information with the department of public health and others. we really want to make sure that any app that we recommend as a department is completely confidential and maintains the highest levels of privacy, and also is able to supplement our current offering of contact tracing and not become a distraction whereby people are getting notified that don't have contacts or information that they need in order to take the appropriate next steps. >> yeah.

i think it would address people's concerns if it's strictly voluntarily whether you use the app or not. so finally, what would you say to our residents is the best way to stay safe during this pandemic? >> well, i like to boil is down to a short little phrase. cover your face, test early, and trace. and what i mean by that, as well as our shelter in place restrictions, we really want people to continue into their new normal life wearing a mask. we know that this is a very protective way of preventing the spread of covid, and we want everyone to adopt this practice in their life as they move forward. we also want people to pay a lot of attention to their bodies as we begin to get back into the world as well as any symptoms that may be consistent with covid-19. fortunately, we have the tests here in san francisco to make

sure that every san franciscan can access a test if they have symptoms. so if somebody is experiencing any symptoms, we want them to seek out those testing services immediately and isolate and note their results. and finally, if somebody is diagnosed with covid-19, we want to make sure that they have been paying attention to who they've been spending time with in the days prior to their symptoms or the days prior to their tests. so that includes an element of tracing your foot steps, as i like to say, and being mindful of your actions, particularly any interactions where you may not have been masked or may have been spending time with people over ten minutes and less than 6 feet apart. by keeping track of people you may have been in contact with, it'll be much easier to work with the health department and

reach out to those individuals to make sure that they know that they were exposed to somebody with covid-19 and they can get the appropriate testing and quarantine so we can ongoingly reduce the risk of transmission to others. >> that's really fantastic information, doctor. i really appreciate the time you've given us today. i know you're really busy. >> yeah, i appreciate the conversation. >> thanks again. that's it for this episode of coping with covid-19. for sfgtv, i'm chris manners. thanks for watching.

>> hi, i'm chris mattis and you're watching coping with covid-19. today i'm going to the dentist. [♪♪♪] when you confirm your appointment with your dentist, ask about the safety protocols they put in place to make sure you are comfortable visiting. my dentist has been very proactive letting patients know exactly what to expect when they arrive, explaining their safety procedures and setting up a detail e-mailed reminder shortly before appointments. before i left i put on a mask and took the smallest number of items i would need including my insurance card. generally i try to book medical appointments earlier in the day. it seemed like i have less weight time and i'm in and out

of the office faster. one of the protocols my dentist has implemented is for patients to call the office from their car to let them know they have arrived. they argue -- they are in their waiting room right now. if they are not ready, they will call you back to let you know when you can enter the practice. as i walked into the office, the receptionist asked me to use a hand sanitizer. i was taken back into the room where i would receive my treatment. everyone in the office was using p.p.e. gowns, masks, gloves, and face shields. after entered the treatment room , i gargled with sanitizing mouth -- mouthwash and we reviewed my chart and x-rays. then we would talk about what steps i would make in my visit. we started my treatment. the procedure was fast and painless. after everything was complete, i was able to make a follow-up appointment without having to

interact with reception. i replaced my mask, was taken back through the office where i used more hand sanitizer before going back to my car as i drove home, i was careful not to touch my face. as soon as i got through the front door, i washed my hands for over 20 seconds. here's a quick recap. [♪♪♪] i have seen anecdotal reports that suggest some people are forgoing important medical or dental care because they're worried about catching the virus even during normal times, offices are extremely hygienic and sanitary and during the pandemic, they are taking extra precautions to make sure everyone is safe. go ahead and make that appointment and visit your dentist and get the care you need to. thanks forororororororororororor

>> hi. i'm chris manners, and you're watching coping with covid-19.

today, i'm going to be talking about checking with your neighbors. >> start off by giving your neighbor a call to see how they are or if they need help. if they don't answer, don't get anxious. try again later. check to see if their car is parked nearby. are they lights being turned on and off during normal hours? if you still can't contact them, contact your other neighbors and see if they've had contact with them recently. you can also leave a note in their mailbox, and when you do get in touch with them, ask if they'd like to share their emergency contact information. if you're getting groceries for a neighbor, get a mask and sanitizing wipe. put the groceries by the front door and then move back and call them from the sidewalk.

if you need to ring the doorbell, don't use your hand. use the wipe or paper towel that you brought. when you call, stay on the sidewalk at least 6 feet away from them. as you're talking to them, ask about any other help they might need. some might need further assistance with groceries or just need to chat. maybe they might need you to pick up prescriptions from the pharmacy. and as always, as soon as you get home, wash your hands. here's a quick recap. >> well, that's it for this episode. i hope you found it useful.

go to sfgov for >> president bleiman: tuesday january 19, 2021 entertainment commission. due to coronavirus health emergency, city employees and the public, city hall meeting rooms are closed. members and employees will be participating. public comment will be available on each agenda item tonight. both channel 26 and sfgovtv.org or streaming the number across the screen. each speaker will b