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MINUTES OF THE HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE April 20, 2020 Online Broadcast Meeting Present: Councilmembers Litten, Kepple, & Rader Also Present: Councilmember Bullock, Mayor George, Terry Allan of the Cuyahoga County Board of Health, IT Manager Coletta, Assistant Finance Director Schuster, Director Gelsomino, Clerk Bach, & members of the public Call to Order: 6:30 p.m. AGENDA COVID-19 Situation Briefing Terry Allan of the Cuyahoga County Board of Health (CCBH) gave an overview of the current COVID-19 situation in the county. He indicated that there will be a gradual reopening of the economy in the state on May 1St. Communities will have to continue social distancing. CCBH is seeing 80 new cases a day at peak in the county,but that pace has slowed. Testing capacity is expected to increase in the following weeks and months.A team of 50-60 staff has been assigned to contact tracing of those who have had the virus. They have been working on identifying cases and those at risk. Clustering of cases has occurred in hospice agencies, homeless shelters, etc. Further cluster identification and suppression is a priority for CCBH moving forward. 43%-58% of the cases of the virus are asymptomatic. Continued social distancing and remote work will be needed. The economic impact of the virus has been significant. The universal wearing of masks may be required in the future, as a viable vaccine is year away from being developed. There are 7 trials underway,but the data should take awhile to collect. Mayor George thanked Mr.Allan for the information and his hard work. Chairman Litten inquired about antibody tests. Mr.Allan said to expect to see a combination of testing methods, and highlighted the use of serology tests, of which provide a range of accuracy and create problems such as false negatives and positives. Councilmember Bullock questioned what the timeline is for going back to normal and phasing out of lockdown if no vaccine is expected for a year. Mr.Allan indicated that the public health community will have to wait and see if there are flareups and how the virus will behave in the summer. It is possible to have social distancing until a vaccine is available. He noted that it could take several months to distribute a vaccine. Councilmember Rader inquired about the county's role in informing the discussion and whether there was any trepidation about reopening of some businesses on May 1St. Mr. Allan indicated that local guidance needs to be developed for summer recreation programs