Daily Admin Updata
Day 51
Good Morning,
While I am on the gratitude kick I would like to once again thank the essential workers. They have gone the extra distance to keep us safe, ensure that people are social distancing and always do it with a smile. I have such appreciation for the health care and essential workers and I know we have many in our community. Thank you.
Don't forget about our Thursday afternoon parent zoom. I do not have a agenda for this meeting other than to connect, give updates and answer questions. If you have questions that you would like addressed please send them to me at sarah@sdccs.org.
Join Zoom Meeting
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I hope you are able to find joy in your day, know that you are appreciated and loved.
Sarah
Mark your calendars for Friday
Mark your calendars for Friday — the day that California will begin partially reopening after seven weeks of sheltering in place.
By the end of the week, clothing stores, bookstores, florists, sporting goods stores and other retailers — as well as the manufacturing and logistics companies that support them — can offer curbside pickup as long as physical distancing is practiced and workers are protected, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday.
“The data says it can happen,” Newsom said, pointing out stabilizing COVID-19 hospitalization rates, improving testing capacity and a sufficient inventory of personal protective equipment
Music to rural counties’ ears was the governor’s announcement that individual counties can move at a faster rate than the state and reopen restaurants and offices, as long as local public health officials sign off on mandatory safety plans.
But Newsom cautioned the state will step in if a wave of coronavirus cases crops up in those communities.
- Newsom: “To the extent that we start to see community spread, that we start to see that the certification and the commitments they made at the local level aren’t manifesting and they weren’t able to hold up … then the state can once again intervene.”
-CalMatters
Top NYC Pediatrician Warns of ‘Alarming New Information’ About COVID-19 and Kids
Amid new concerns about the possible impact of COVID-19 on children, Mount Sinai Hospital is confirming reports by NBC New York that they are seeing new and unusual COVID-19 related illness in several pediatric patients. The hospital’s chief of pediatric critical care is now issuing a warning to parents to be on the lookout for certain symptoms.
In a statement, Dr. George Ofori, Pediatric Critical Care Director at Mount Sinai Kravis Children’s Hospital said, "Some of the cases that we are currently treating entered our care presenting with symptoms such as abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, and a low-grade fever. Others presented first with a rash, conjunctivitis, and/or cracked lips.”
Dr. Ofori said some patients have developed heart problems and low blood pressure that led to shock. He explained that some had been diagnosed with COVID-19 2-3 weeks before these symptoms developed.
"Whether the underlying condition is COVID-19 or the body’s response to COVID-19 is not known at this time. While it is too early to definitively say what is causing this we believe it is important to alert the public as to what we are seeing," he said.
A different source told NBC New York some of these children had no previous underlying health conditions.
The Mount Sinai statement comes two days after Dr. Ofori’s counterpart at Cohen Children’s Hospital on Long Island told the I-Team in an interview they’ve seen about a dozen critically ill pediatric patients in the past two weeks with similar inflammatory symptoms.
"They are scattered. Each center has one or two cases,” said pediatric cardiologist Dr. Nadine Choueiter of Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx.
While Dr. Choueiter noted the cases are still rare, she added “Yes, we are seeing them and it’s important to talk about it to raise awareness so as pediatricians we look for these symptoms and treat them.”
Symptoms can include fever for more than five days, rash, gastrointestinal symptoms, red eyes and swollen hands and feet.
In addition to a dozen cases at Cohen Children’s Hospital, a source at Mount Sinai Hospital says the number of cases in their pediatric ICU grew by several this week, up from two cases on April 28.
NBC New York has also confirmed at least one case at Montefiore Medical Center and another case of a toddler at NYU Langone, who was released in recent days after being treated for Kawasaki disease.
At Columbia Presbyterian, a spokesperson did not respond to repeated requests from NBC New York about a published report of three cases in their hospital.
Pediatricians say besides the serious inflammatory symptoms, what many of these children have in common is that they test positive for COVID-19 or the antibodies. They also say some of the children test negative for the coronavirus, but are believed to have been exposed to the virus by immediate family members.
Now doctors are comparing notes, trying to figure out if COVID-19 is triggering an overreaction of the immune system in some previously healthy children, perhaps even weeks after they were exposed.
“The interesting part is only now are we seeing these patients show up,” Dr. Schneider said, adding that the question is “Is this a typical surge in Kawasaki disease or is this the typical post-infectious response to a Covid infection?” Doctors say it’s also possible that these cases are unrelated to Covid-19, but it’s hard to know, since health officials do not require such symptoms in children to be tracked.
It’s still unclear if local public health officials have started counting these cases to determine if there is an uptick.
The New York City Health Department seemed unaware of the local cases when NBC New York first inquired about doctors’ concerns at a news conference with Mayor Bill de Blasio on April 29.
“We have not seen this to date,” said Commissioner Oxiris Barbot of the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
Two days later on May 1, when NBC New York asked for an update, Commissioner Barbot said she is trying to learn more about any potential health threat to children.
“We are looking closely at this, “ Barbot said. “My team has reached out to the pediatric hospitals to get more information about specific cases that they have concerns are indicating an inflammatory cardiovascular response in children that had not been previously observed.”
Barbot said she had also personally communicated with the NYC Medical Examiner who is attempting to compile any information on children abroad who may have died after developing these symptoms.
British pediatricians and health officials also issued a warning on April 26 about a possible Covid-Kawasaki link in young children.
“It just goes to show that Covid does not spare any age group and can lead to very serious illness, even in kids,” said Dr. Schneider.
FAQ on Kawasaki https://www.heart.org/-/media/files/health-topics/answers-by-heart/what-is-kawasaki-disease-300320.pdf?la=en
Copyright NBC New York
National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week
May 3rd marked the first day of the National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week.
SAMHSA reminds us that this week shines a spotlight on the importance of caring for every child’s mental health and reinforces that positive mental health is essential to a child’s health development.
Help the children in your life, both young and old to….