Tag Archives: Dr. Bela Matyas

Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Coronavirus, Covid 19, Quarantine, Re-opening, Solano County CA, Solano County Health Officer Bela Matyas

SFGATE: “Solano guidance is not completely in line with assessments of the virus by the Centers for Disease Control”

Solano County: COVID patients may return to work after 10 days, even with ‘lingering symptoms’

SFGATE, by Alyssa Pereira, August 5, 2020
FILE: Hand washing stations are posted for guests at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom on July 2, 2020 in Vallejo, which is located in Solano County. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images / 2020 Getty Images
Hand washing stations are posted for guests at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom on July 2, 2020 in Vallejo, which is located in Solano County. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Solano County issued new guidance to residents Tuesday, stating that employees in the county who test positive for COVID-19 may return to work after isolating for 10 days, whether or not they continue to exhibit symptoms of the disease caused by the virus. Typical symptoms may include coughing, fever, or respiratory issues.

“Anyone who tested positive and has isolated for 10 days from the date that their symptoms began is no longer infectious, even if some may have lingering symptoms,” said Dr. Bela Matyas, Solano County Health Officer. “We understand that businesses have concerns about employees returning to the workplace; however, re-testing is unnecessary to prove that employees can no longer spread the disease. Once the 10-day isolation has been completed, employees may return to work.”

Matyas added that there is no need for that person to re-test at the end of the 10-day isolation, as “most people with confirmed COVID-19 will continue to have positive test results for several weeks.”

Solano County’s guidance is not completely in line with assessments of the virus by the Centers for Disease Control. A survey of available data found that people with “mild to moderate” COVID-19 symptoms are infectious for no longer than 10 days. However, those with more serious “severe to critical” symptoms have been found to be contagious up to “20 days after symptom onset.”

Additionally, the CDC recommends that a person who tests positive for the disease and exhibits symptoms may end isolation after 10 days if their fever has returned to normal for at least 24 hours and other symptoms have improved.

“These findings strengthen the justification for relying on a symptom based, rather than test-based strategy for ending isolation of these patients, so that persons who are by current evidence no longer infectious are not kept unnecessarily isolated and excluded from work or other responsibilities,” the CDC added.

Coronavirus, Covid 19, Solano County CA, Solano County Health Officer Bela Matyas

Dr. Matyas on COVID-19 closures in Solano County: “We continue to see a surge…”

State orders Solano churches, malls other businesses to close, again

Fairfield Daily Republic, by Todd R. Hansen, July 14, 2020
The Solano Town Center was closed Monday on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s order to close certain businesses again because of Covid-19. (Robinson Kuntz/Daily Republic)

FAIRFIELD — The state on Monday ordered Solano and 28 other counties on its watch list to close places of worship, malls and a number of other business sectors due to the rise in hospitalizations and other Covid-19 concerns.

…Covid-19 is responsible for more than 135,000 deaths in the country and more than 7,000 in California, Johns Hopkins University reported.

Solano County Public Health reported Monday that the number of deaths at least partially attributable to Covid-19 rose by three to 31 over the weekend.

“The fatalities are all elderly individuals (who) were exposed by family at social gatherings,”  Dr. Bela Matyas , Solano County public health officer, said Monday in a phone interview.

Matyas also said the number of current hospitalizations is 47, up from 40 over the weekend. The county’s online report initially had the number holding at 40.

“We continue to see a surge in the number of new cases across the county, including a rise in positivity rates, hospitalizations and fatalities,” Matyas said in the statement announcing the health order change.

Matyas once again urged Solano County residents to take precautions to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus that causes Covid-19.

“While it may be difficult, especially during the summer, we strongly urge all Solano County residents to limit or avoid in-person gatherings, as we know the recent rise in Covid-19 cases is due to families and friends getting together with people outside their households and infecting each other, which can be especially dangerous when transmitted to high-risk individuals,” Matyas added in the statement.

Since the county’s Friday afternoon update, Solano added 144 more Covid-19 cases to bring the total to 2,219, but experienced a decrease in active cases, from 435 to 301, which is explained, in part, by the fact so many had become sick at the same time and are now past the infectious stage at the same time. Hospitalizations reported since the beginning of the outbreak was listed at 114.

The county released its amended health order Monday evening to reflect the state order. But hours before that, the Solano Town Center mall had already locked its doors.

In addition to churches and malls, also ordered closed by the state are nail and hair salons, fitness centers, personal care establishments such as tattoo parlors, and some offices.

Gov. Gavin Newsom noted in his comments that over the previous 14 days, hospitalizations in the state had risen by 28% and intensive care admissions are up 20%.

However, those rate increases are actually slower compared to the rate for the prior two-week period, the state reported.

The positive rate for Covid-19 testing, according to the state, is up to 7.7% over the past seven days.

Fairfield as of Monday afternoon added 45 confirmed cases since Friday for a total of 765; Vallejo added 41 for a total of 747; Vacaville added 34 for a total of 354; Suisun City added 18 for a total of 160; Dixon added four for a total of 122; Benicia added one for a total of 41; and Rio Vista added one for a total of 22…. [continued]