Updated 5:30 p.m. — This article has been updated to include a recent statement from Mendocino County officials, at end of the article as well as with additional details.
MENDOCINO Co., 4/17/20 — A fifth confirmed case of COVID-19 in Mendocino County was announced this afternoon. The infected person is a man between the ages of 19 and 35, who has recently been released early from state prison in Chino, where he had come into contact with a confirmed case of the virus on April 7. The man is reportedly asymptomatic and is now isolated at the home of a relative, but is believed to have been in the Ukiah area for the last six or seven days. The announcement was made in a video posted to social media by Mendocino County Public Health Officer Dr. Noemi Doohan and other county officials this afternoon (watch here).
County officials were first informed of the situation yesterday by out-of-county officials, as the man had been expected to report to his parole officer in Stanislaus County. Law enforcement in Mendocino County was informed, and Mendocino Public Health provided a COVID-19 test to get back results as soon as possible. The man’s test result was confirmed positive today.
The man, who is the county’s fifth case, and currently the only known active case of Covid-19, was recently released early from the California Institute for Men (colloquially referred to as just “Chino”) in San Bernardino County due to policies around early release due the coronavirus, and according to Mendocino County Sheriff Matthew Kendall, is “not a Ukiah resident,” but had traveled to this county instead of reporting to authorities in Stanislaus County.
Upon arriving in Mendocino County the man went to stay with an aunt at a trailer park in Ukiah. Upon finding out about this case local authorities found him, got back a positive test result and have now isolated him at a local hotel with an ankle monitor.
The man had been scheduled for parole on May 7, and initially was put into a quarantine on April 7, but was then released from prison on April 8. He is believed to have been in the Ukiah area for six or seven days as of today, and Kendall did not know how exactly he had travelled from Chino to Ukiah. Doohan stated that initial contact tracing of who the man might have come into contact with had begun on Friday, and so far looks “very reassuring,” adding that he has stayed quarantined, and is now in isolation. Officials clarified in a later statement the man had not been tested prior to his release.
In in a subsequent interview this afternoon with The Mendocino Voice, officials stated he had twice visited stores in Ukiah would not provide additional details.
As of the most recent numbers available, Mendocino County had conducted 492 tests, with four confirmed cases that are considered recovered, and this most recent case as the only active case, and 14 tests pending. Doohan praised the coordination of the local agencies and community clinic staff for acting quickly and in cooperation once they became aware someone with a known contact needed testing. Doohan added that a press release was expected “within two hours” during the 3 p.m. video announcement.
During epidemics prisons and jails can act as reservoirs and vectors of disease. As such, many countries have done large releases of prisoners during this pandemic, and so following the advice of epidemiologists, Governor Gavin Newsom has ordered some prisoners to be released early and other changes to the prison system during the pandemic including reducing new intakes. Still, the number of reported cases of the virus among prisoners continues to increase. The state and civil rights advocates have recently been fighting in court over the possibility of additional inmate releases.
Kendall said he had “some extreme concerns” about the way the situation had unfolded and the state’s system of early release had been implemented. He said he had been informed of the situation by the Stanislaus County sheriff yesterday afternoon, on April 16, who told him a prisoner had been released from Chino and had been ordered to check in with a parole officer in Stanislaus County, but had instead traveled to Ukiah and called authorities from there.
Kendall stated that he subsequently learned that staff at Chino had sent a memo to Stanislaus County officials on April 9, warning that the inmate had known contact with a person infected with COVID-19, and had been placed on a quarantine on April 7 — a status that should have lasted until April 21.
Instead, the man was instead released the next day, on April 8. Kendall said that after getting the news he immediately notified Ukiah Chief of Police Justin Wyatt and Dr. Doohan in order to secure a test quickly, and positive results were confirmed today. The man has been asymptomatic and remains in quarantine.
Kendall especially expressed concern that only Stanislaus County, and not Mendocino County officials, had been notified of the potential contact with a confirmed case, saying in the video, “Turning people loose at the door and saying go about your way is like throwing sparks into dry grass.”
Although the man may have ultimately arrived in Mendocino County, local officials stated they hoped some of the problems with this situation would inform the process statewide moving forward, and Kendall said he had shared concerns with Ralph Diaz, California Secretary of State Prisons.
“My concern is how many times has it occurred? We know of one issue here at this point, however, what does the rest of the state look like right now?” said Kendall.
Wyatt expressed similar concerns about the process and timing of the inmate’s release, and commended the other agencies within the county for acting in coordination quickly. He added that local officials had made numerous inquiries on a state level as what went wrong.
Here is press release issued by Mendocino County shortly after 5 p.m. today:
Health Officer Confirms Fifth Case of COVID-19
Post Date: 04/17/2020 5:09 PM
Ukiah, California: 4/17/2020
Health Officer Confirms Fifth Case of COVID-19
The Mendocino County Health Officer, Dr. Noemi Doohan has confirmed a fifth case of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Mendocino County. Like the previous four cases, this case is related to an exposure outside of Mendocino County and does not appear to indicate that community spread has occurred inside our County. This person was released from a state correctional facility by the California Department of Corrections
and Rehabilitation (CDCR), and was transported, untested, from that facility to Mendocino County in order to stay with a relative. The individual has not shown symptoms and was directed by CDCR to self-isolate until the COVID-19 testing was done.
Mendocino County Public Health was made aware of this persons presence in the County yesterday morning, as soon as Sheriff Kendall became aware. This person was evaluated at a local primary care clinic within hours, and Public Health transported the COVID-19 test sample to the Public Health lab in Santa Rosa promptly, resulting in a positive test result within 24 hours. The primary care clinic responded to this urgent need in an exemplary matter, and took proper precautions including using personal protective equipment, while evaluating the individual. A detailed contact investigation is underway by Public Health.
Fifth Case Details: Male between 19-34 years old, asymptomatic (meaning not showing symptoms at this time), in isolation at home with a relative, in the Ukiah Valley with active public health monitoring since yesterday.
“It can be easy to let our guard down as Sheltering-In-Place seems to drag on,” said Dr. Doohan “but this case is proof that we still need our county’s Shelter-in-Place order to protect us while we gain precious time to prepare for the threat of COVID-19 community spread arriving in the near future, like it has in Sonoma County. Sheltering-In-Place is not optional. We must continue to Shelter-In-Place, while practicing social distancing, and wear face coverings while out in public for essential activities.”
Anyone who is tested for COVID-19 MUST remain in isolation until further directed by their clinician who ordered the test under the Blanket Isolation and Quarantine orders released by Dr Doohan on April 8, 2020.
Of the five positive cases our county has had, the first four have fully recovered and are currently Sheltering-In-Place.
For more on COVID-19:
www.mendocinocounty.org
Call Center: (707) 234-6052 or email [email protected]
Inexcusable to risk public safety like this! As soon as he didn’t report to PO in Stanislaus co. he should have been locked back up! Should be repercussions all the way back to Gov Newsome! Also some local restrictions should be relaxed. Vast majority in this county are mature people that have no desire to risk exposure. Open local recreation areas up!
The tool Doohan makes clear she has no intention of giving US parole while the State gives actual criminals, infected with the virus, parole. We must ask what the REAL motive for the House Arrest is, and start DEMANDING answers and rescission.
Doohan: “this case is proof that we still need our county’s Shelter-in-Place order to
protect us.”
Uh, no, this case is proof we need to assert our power and sovereign authority as the People, telling the petty tyrants THIS ENDS NOW.
I don’t know what this guy was convicted of, but it’s clear that he doesn’t give a rat’s patootie about the law or other people’s health. Instead of being grateful for early release and sequestering himself in a safe place he is allowed to gallivant all over our county. Maybe Dr. Doohan would welcome him to quarantine in her home in San Diego.
The public has a right to know every place ,person ,and establishment he came in contact with.
Doohan will lie again, claiming “privacy” prevents her from telling the truth. Of course, that’s not correct, since the relevant statutes all have public health emergency exemptions.
People really need to start questioning what is really going on, why are WE under House Arrest, but the State unloads actual criminal infectees on our communities. What is the REAL motive for all of this? Obviously, it isn’t public health.
Un-f**king-believable! This is prima facie evidence the House Arrest “orders” are bullsh**. The State OBVIOUSLY does not care about controlling the spread of the disease, or else they’d not have released a prisoner from a facility with a KNOWN outbreak without testing him!
REFUSE & RESIST! The House Arrest needs to END NOW.
More details: the individual in question was released from the California Institute for Men in Chino, from where 3,500 inmates have been released, to across California, UNTESTED. The outbreak began March 21st, and the releases are because of the outbreak.
Ask yourself: WHY are WE under House Arrest, prisoners in our homes, prevented from working or visiting others, while the State simply unloads thousands of prisoners into our communities?
The people protesting across America are right. Now’s the time not for push back, but SHOVE back. THINK for yourselves.
Agreed and if you need proof that something bigger is going on, it’s available.
Before release all inmates need a test. A friend comes out the 25th latest from Ukiah and will want to come here a senior community. He needs a test now, not later. How can this happen???
Inmates need to be tested before release. They need far better care than they receive. If they have known contacts they need to be provided with quarantine housing and retested before leaving the County. I find it a stretch that Stanislaus officials didn’t know where he was being paroled to. It doesn’t work that way. The location of a parolee must be set up before release. It’s more likely that paperwork got botched. Paperwork does get botched. Mendocino officials had the right to know. I really do think it’s essential to do the releases- but it’s equally essential to have well organized protocols in place. As for those who believe that simply keeping them locked up in extreme proximity and bad conditions won’t affect the rest of us- I’m pretty sure that’s just not true. The constant exposure of employees and other essential workers and services would make their way to us much faster if the conditions inside were allowed to fester. If there’s a lesson I’ve learned from this virus is that the well being of others has a direct impact on mine. Therefore I need to care about their well being.
I blame jail iN CHINO…..100 per cent!
HE SHOULD SUE THEMWHEN HIS TIME
IS UP,
‘
I agree with you on that! They have an obligation to the public to get this right.
Is this person wearing an ankle bracelet? What motivation keeps him quarenteened?
Yes.
Didn’t help much, did it?
Why is Dr. Doohan vacationing in San Diego during this crisis?
Great question!! Does she live in Mendocino County or San Diego?
GERM WARFARE
It seems the prisoners in CA have more rights than law abiding citizens do, in that we are sheltered in place and they are given a free pass to infect our communities. And when caught again, they are asked to remain at home so they don’t do more damage. It seems to me, if there is one, there must be more out there doing the same thing, maybe in our area, as well. The least we should do is to make certain they and other members of their household are restrained by any means possible, as they really are the enemy of those of us that have tried so hard by self isolation to stop the spread of this pandemic.
They lost their freedom when they were tried, convicted and incarcerated in prison, and now, due to a poorly planned release, these ex-prisoners are out there acting as germ terrorists walking freely through our neighborhoods. It is truly a sad situation, and in our case we have managed the spread of COVIG-19 very well until now.
I don’t envy the local police and health officials that are retracing this individual’s steps for those 6 or 7 days, and testing all he came in contact with while out there. The sad part is, it could have, and should have, been avoided by proper handling by the prison system.
Lock the prisons and carpet-bomb them with incendiary ammunition. Our society would be much better off in many ways. Get rid of the prison gangs and scum-bags. Get rid of the criminals, get rid of the cartel members, street-hoods, and white supremeCYSTS. Burn them all.
That is just ignorant to seriously suggest that. These people are humans just like you and I but you have to think …. These people are somebody’s father, mother, daughter, son, brother, sister, some may have made a mistake, some bigger than others, some falsly accused, some being in the wrong place at the wrong time. “Burn them all”? Seriously? Think before you post things or don’t drink so much before you start posting this stuff. I agree everybody has a right to their opinion but if you really think that is a cure for this problem I wonder if you would feel the same if your kid was in prison or jail. By the way I don’t have any family or close friends in prison.
Lovely.
But isn’t ‘incendiary ammunition.’ too quick and painless?
You do realize you are advocating mass murder, right? Just the kind of person that belongs in there, right?
Just checking.
WE NEED TO KNOW WHO IT IS, WHO THEYVE HAD CONTACT WITH, SO ARMED MEN CAN ENSURE THEY DO NOT LEAVE QUARANTINE, LEST THEY BE SHOT DOWN. STAY PUT OR BE PUT DOWN!!!
I have major questions about the contact tracing this county is doing. The article above states that county officials said the infected individual twice visited stores in Ukiah but would not provide additional details. How do we know that the county is able to trace everyone he came in contact with? Don’t we have a right to know if we could have been in those stores at the same time as he was? Do you think everyone who was in the stores with him knows that they may have come in contact with an infected person? I doubt it.
This illustrates a larger issue with the county’s response. Like everywhere else, we don’t have enough testing. The county has started to test more people but barely half of a percent of our county’s residents have been tested. What is the plan? Without clear communication from our county leaders, it feels like we have no plan. Our leaders have been touting the fact that we only have had four people test positive (as of this posting the county website has not been updated with the fifth positive case), yet we are still unable to have any return to normalcy. Why? The reason is clear. It is likely that there is a lot more positive cases in our county than we know about. If we scale up the numbers that we currently have, there could be as many as 1000 people who have or have had coronavirus in this county. Hopefully less, maybe more.
I was sick but couldn’t get tested because I didn’t have every one of the symptoms. How many other county residents have the same story? In the latest positive case, the person was asymptomatic. Our leaders want to stick their head in the sand and pretend that everything is okay. We know that is not true. The fact that we are kept in lockdown proves it. Our leaders keep saying that they are being open and transparent but their actions contradict there words.
Who is in charge of procuring more testing? What is the plan to reopen the county safely? Do we have to wait until the bay area counties reopen? We will be at greater risk when they do. It is clear that we currently have no system of checking people who are entering our county for coronavirus. We are a county that relies on tourism. How we going to be kept safe when the county reopens for business?
Carmel Angelo and Noemi Doohan, I challenge you to answers these questions. Is there anyone else who considers themself a leader? Can you help? If you don’t have answers, get some answers. If you don’t have a plan, get a plan. When you have answers and a plan, please share it with us. Do it soon. Give us some hope.
Well said Jack, while I’m glad we are likely erroring on the side of caution simply BECAUSE we don’t know how many spreaders there might be, WE are doing the work and so, deserve any information available to help us succeed Who are they protecting by not naming the stores visited, the store owners?
Not us, that’s sure.
He shouldn’t have been let go until he had been in quaràntee for 2 weeks. So he wouldn’t have been a threat to anyone. Chino was passing the buck. What is wrong is that they don’t let everyone know where he went what stores at what days and around what time. That way if you were at any of those places you could go get tested. It is not right they don’t tell us. It is are right to be informed about what could potentially kill us!! I mean we stay in shelter in place so we are safe from an outbreak. It was going good until this possibly could lead to a outbreak in our county. Caused by the people who are enforcing shelter in place. Pretty irresponsible!!!
Agreed and if you need proof that something bigger is going on, it’s available.
Testing, folks, it’s all about testing! Please take all the “LIBERATE…” energy and turn it toward pushing our officials to do adequate testing. He should have been tested before being allowed early release; kind of a no brainer given his known exposure, don’t you think?!? Why don’t we have enough tests to do this? That would be an area worth getting all rebeled up about.
Every American should be protesting the lack of tests; that is how we are going to feel secure moving about as the months pass…
It is incredibly heartening to see and hear Mendo’s health and Sheriff”s officers appear so competent and caring after the daily hours of watching A Confederacy of Dunces (a book I highly recommend), that our central government has become, backstab, defend, accuse, malign and promote -ing themselves while caring and doing little to nothing except confuse and disillusion those they were installed to protect.
I needed that, Thank you
Unfortunately, one inmate has now died of coronavirus at the Chino facility. It is important, to say the least, that there is extensive follow-up on this ex-prisoner’s contacts.
This is ridiculous. This type of mistake is being made all over the country. Like when the cruise boat passengers were brought into Florida and then put on planes and flown all over the country without being tested. Why aren’t people being tested before being released into the public? And to not even keep track of where a parolee has gone or if he is even in the right county. If you can’t keep track of where these people are going they should not be released at all. And I agree, why are we being locked up and prisoners are being set free? Does that not seem like a problem?
I hope everything get’s sorted/clarified of who’s been directly in contact since the 8th- no matter where they are now at, and for them to come forward and get tested, and isolated if needed. I also hope the best for this person’s friend’s and family, since this time was probably meant to be a bit of a new beginning for them all, and probably hard to not have actually reconnected. There are many reasons inmates who have been planning/waiting for release would get released early. Someone’s last known address/whereabouts doesn’t necessarily mean that’s where they are from. This virus truly sucks for us all and is even more reason for the public to take this seriously. This is especially/obviously true since tons of people may have already been asymptomatic in the county!
I read this article last night and could barely sleep because I am so pissed that this happened. You lock people inside for over a month only to ruin all of their efforts by letting a prisoner run free to go wherever they decide to go. I didn’t even realize that the county the prisoner was supposed to report to is 150 miles south of mendo. Completely assanine. This should have never happened. This makes me feel violent and I am sure I am not the only one.
So… When are they testing the residence of the trailer park he was hiding out in? When will they contact the trailer park residence to let them know he may have infected them?
What is our Public Health Director going to do about this?
These people need to know before they feel there SIP is being followed correctly and this happens.
Some of these people are working Essential Jobs and now they may be effecting people!