Board of Health

City of East Orange EAST ORANGE BOARD OF HEALTH NEW JERSEY REGULAR MEETING East Orange Department of Health & Human Services 143 New Street East Orange, New Jersey 07017 September 21, 2021 MEETING MINUTES Meeting Call to Order – 5:30 PM Board President Christine Harris read the following Sunshine Law: This meeting, which conforms to the provisions of the Open Public Meeting Act, Chapter 231, and Public Law of 1975 is a regular meeting of the City of East Orange Board of Health. Notices have been filed with our official newspaper, with the City Clerk, and posted on regular bulletin boards. The public is permitted to participate at this meeting. Zoom Communication ID: 993 5030 1863 Meeting Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/99350301863?pwd=RjVkN2pXWVZSL3hLd0FINHZFUXJtZz09 After the roll call, it was determined there was a quorum to convene the meeting. Board Members Present: Christine Harris, President Horace H. Henry, Vice President Tobbia M. Corbitt Deanna Phillips – excused absence Angela Jones-Williams Dr. Tonya X. Cook Council Liaison: Leneus Bergson - absent Board of Health Counsel: Attorney Farah Abuobead Health Department Staff: Dr. Griffith, HHS Director Victor Kuteyi, Health Officer Mayoral Staff: None Public in attendance: None Approval of July 20, 2021, Meeting Minutes: Approved Unanimously pg. 1 City of East Orange EAST ORANGE BOARD OF HEALTH NEW JERSEY REGULAR MEETING East Orange Department of Health & Human Services 143 New Street East Orange, New Jersey 07017 September 21, 2021 MEETING MINUTES Announcements President Harris: 1. 2021 NJ Leagues of Municipalities Conference will occur in Atlantic City, November 16 –18. The theme of the conference is “Creating Your Legacy.” 2. President Harris’ inquiries about migrants from the southern border possible sent to East Orange, is out of concern for our citizens who are reportedly only 50% immunized. We do not want any external influences aggravating a condition we're trying our best to mitigate. HO Kuteyi Updates: DHHS Staffing Ms. Imani Cabrera joined the team as a member of our COVID vaccination program and will be assisting with the management of registration and other clinical clerical duties. Also, Ms. Deysia Talmadge, now a graduate nurse, is managing the clinical aspect of the COVID vaccination program. COVID-19 Vaccination Statistics. HO Kuteyi provided COVID-19 vaccinations update on East Orange residents as follows: ages18 years and above = 64% and 12-17 years = 62%.; and a breakdown of residents receiving at least 1 vaccine dose:12-17 years 39%; 18-29 years 48%; 30-49 years 56%; 50-64 years 78%; and 65-79 years 81% and over 80 years 79%. He also shared a comprehensive breakdown of resident data via zip codes HO Kuteyi shared his interest in obtaining that level of data to give us insight as to where to focus our resources by age group and considering vaccines may be approved for younger children. Vice-President Henry asked what age group had the lowest number of vaccinations. HO Kuteyi stated the lowest group was those ages 12 to 17. The Delta variant has affected those in that age group, so we need to focus our education and efforts there. He expressed hope regarding additional vaccines being approved for younger groups to give parents more options for those who do not want their children to take the Pfizer vaccine. Trustee Corbitt inquired about the development process of the Moderna vaccine for the under 18 age group. HO Kuteyi stated he believes it will be the same vaccine, it will boil down to trials being presented to the FDA for that age group. President Harris stated we are making some inroads as 68% is more impressive than where we began. Dr. Cook gave kudos to our efforts and relayed Deputy Commissioner Hornsby’s sentiments regarding the outstanding job we are doing with the COVID-19 response. Homebound Vaccinations HO Kuteyi shared the Health Department received 121 calls since May of 2021, from homebound individuals in need of vaccinations. Of the 121 residents, 102 have been fully vaccinated. We have 8 newly registered and should be receiving at least 1 dose by the end of this week. 11 residents declined or changed their minds about receiving the vaccine after the initial phone call. HO Kuteyi expressed confidence that 95% of residents who meet the criteria for being deemed homebound have been vaccinated. pg. 2 City of East Orange EAST ORANGE BOARD OF HEALTH NEW JERSEY REGULAR MEETING East Orange Department of Health & Human Services 143 New Street East Orange, New Jersey 07017 September 21, 2021 MEETING MINUTES Vaccination Clinics HO Kuteyi shared this week we have vaccinations scheduled at Old Sanford St. and Campus High. There is also COVID testing taking place at the Fall Festival Community Resource Fair at 60 Evergreen Place and COVID vaccinations at the Farmer’s Market. HO Kuteyi stated we had a great turnout at Campus High for vaccines. Vaccination Boosters President Harris asked if there was any conversation regarding giving boosters to younger children. HO Kuteyi shared he has heard some talk regarding providing booster shots for those who are immuno-compromised, but we are still waiting for further approval for non- compromised individuals. There has been some dialogue regarding J&J providing second doses for additional coverage but that has also yet to receive approval. Trustee Corbitt remarked we should ensure those who have not received their first doses are our top priority before providing booster doses. Retail Food Inspections HO Kuteyi shared the inspectors have completed 168 retail food inspections. Of the 168 146 were satisfactory. They attended to a few complaints of mold and rodent issues. All polls have been inspected for the year. HO Kuteyi shared there was some damage from the aftermath of Ida, but the damage was not as significant as when Sandy hit NJ. There was some damage involving power outages, but PSE&G came out the following day and made sure the power was restored quickly, so we avoided shutting down any retail food stores. President Harris asked if the flooding affected any basements. HO Kuteyi replied there was some basement flooding, but it didn't affect tenants as we expected. HO Kuteyi shared the story of a woman who resided in an apartment where she experienced a sewage backup from the apartment upstairs, but the tenant was provided relocation assistance from the landlord and moved immediately. Trustee Corbitt mentioned her family was affected by the power outages and that she was aware of other residences being impacted by Ida. President Harris shared Mayor Green put out a notice advising funding may be available from FEMA. Trustee Corbitt shared a robocall was also sent to residents from the County Executive offering assistance as well. WIC President Harris asked if there were any updates regarding the WIC program. HO Kuteyi shared Chesney is in talks to install security cameras but there have been no additional updates. Outstanding Ordinances President Harris remarked she is unsure of how we will proceed with items such as the Mercantile License, Nail Salon and Barbershop Ordinances, and the Feral Cat issues or what the BOH is expected to do going forward. President Harris recalled previous meetings where it was stated the barbershop ordinance may be covered under the mercantile laws and we are unsure if the marijuana ordinance is also going to be a part of that. President Harris asked if pg. 3 City of East Orange EAST ORANGE BOARD OF HEALTH NEW JERSEY REGULAR MEETING East Orange Department of Health & Human Services 143 New Street East Orange, New Jersey 07017 September 21, 2021 MEETING MINUTES there is anything the Board should do to help further any of this along. HO Kuteyi stated the ordinances have been around for years and have been presented to legal on numerous occasions without a response. The age 21 smoking tobacco ordinance was passed. The E- cigarette ordinance presented at the same time was not passed and would have generated revenue from fines, registrations fees etc. that could be used to help enforce smoking regulations. The E-cigarette ordinance should be revisited as marijuana is now legal and we need to ensure dispensaries, and such are following the regulations regarding tobacco and e- cigarettes. President Harris mentioned nail salons and barbershops are regulated by the State. HO Kuteyi concurred, relaying that is an issue with the State being the governing body we can only inspect in a limited capacity. President Harris suggested they revise the ordinance to focus on the health aspects of those entities but noted any revisions to the ordinance will still involve some inspection. Vice President Henry asked how much the State is involved regarding the inspection of nail salons, hair salons, and barbershops. HO Kuteyi stated that is a good question. Many times, when he visits these stores, the owners can’t advise of when the State last inspected their stores. Vice President Henry and HO Kuteyi agrees there should be an emphasis on the City having some governance over these entities from a health perspective, especially when the Health Department receives complaints regarding sanitation practices. President Harris will disseminate these ordinances for the Board to review and provide updates for legal consideration. Feral Cats The board concluded the feral cat issue is harder to maintain there needs to be wards or areas designated for monitoring the colonies, identify parties responsible for neutering cats, etc. Until City Council establishes protocols regarding all the facets of maintaining the feral colonies, we will focus on the other three ordinances for now. School Re-opening Protocols Trustee Corbitt asked if there have been any outbreaks reported within the school district. HO Kuteyi stated there have been sporadic cases that required some children to quarantine as a safety precaution, however, he has not heard of any outbreaks. Trustee Corbitt asked how the process of quarantining children or staff is being managed. HO Kuteyi shared all the teachers and staff are required to be vaccinated or tested if there are medical or other exemptions. The nurses are doing contact tracing so when an incident occurs the school nurse is usually the first to be alerted. If she feels the case may involve a large group of individuals or become an outbreak, they contact the Health Department directly. The school district also disinfects the classrooms to ensure COVID does not spread. Board members asked if the classrooms were disinfected daily. HO Kuteyi stated he cannot attest to whether the classrooms are inspected daily, but regular sanitation is a part of their protocol. President Harris inquired about student seating assignments. HO Kuteyi stated the students participate in temperature/fever monitoring daily and must wear masks all day. Their desks pg. 4 City of East Orange EAST ORANGE BOARD OF HEALTH NEW JERSEY REGULAR MEETING East Orange Department of Health & Human Services 143 New Street East Orange, New Jersey 07017 September 21, 2021 MEETING MINUTES are located 3 feet apart and they have plexiglass at the front of their desks. Adequate ventilation via an HVAC system, open windows, or fans is utilized. Hand sanitizer is also available for students and staff. Attorney Abuobead Updates: President Harris asked if there have been any additional updates regarding the marijuana ordinance in terms of issuing the licenses or if any business locations were identified. Attorney Farah stated she has not heard anything additional but will follow up with Ryan as he is working on the ordinance. Attorney Farah stated the ordinance was passed. President Harris asked if there has been any input or discussions with the Health Department. Attorney Farah stated she is unaware if those discussions occurred and deferred to Dr. Griffith. President Harris asked if Dr. Griffith has been a part of any recent discussions regarding this. Dr. Griffith shared she has not received any additional information after the council meeting, however, there are other individuals perhaps from the health and education committees that are represented. President Harris shared she was asked by H&E committee member to relate the Board’s position and input concerning revenues, income sales, and penalty funding from this enterprise. President Harris reviewed the Board’s position paper that was submitted to the H&E Commission. In the Position Paper, the very first line under the caption Recommends, indicates that funding be directed to education and the health departments. President Harris clarified that she hopes some consideration of their (Boards) position was given. Trustee Corbitt asked if another H & E committee meeting was held to discuss any issues regarding the board’s position. President Harris stated she had not attended another meeting but remembers Dr. Griffith shared one of the Commission members had expressed thanks for the board submitting the position document. Trustee Corbitt concurred stating acknowledging it and embracing are two separate things. You can acknowledge the submission but acknowledging the content via review and including it in the outcome means more. Open Discussion: Trustee Corbitt asked if the NJLM would be held in-person only or would there be some virtual workshops or sessions. President Harris shared the NJLM is scheduled to be in-person this year but advised Board members to view their website as they may have some events via Zoom. President Harris also remarked they have revamped some of the sessions so that attendees may visit multiple sessions without missing out on others due to the overlap in schedules. President Harris also shared the website has a lot of information regarding safety precautions and testing prior to the event. President Harris surmised there would be a lot of interesting topics some of which may include recreational marijuana as well as going forward with COVID-19 and the new Delta variant. pg. 5 City of East Orange EAST ORANGE BOARD OF HEALTH NEW JERSEY REGULAR MEETING East Orange Department of Health & Human Services 143 New Street East Orange, New Jersey 07017 September 21, 2021 MEETING MINUTES Trustee Corbitt asked HO Kuteyi if there were any updates regarding the sewage backup occurring in her neighborhood. HO Kuteyi shared the manager of the apartment building where the backup occurred stated they will hire external companies to facilitate the sanitization and cleanup of the area and fix the break. HO Kuteyi also shared the Health Department and Code Enforcement will be conducting a quality-of-life inspection to determine the extent of damage and if any other residences have been affected. Trustee Corbitt shared the Water Department recently replaced the pipes in the area. It was initially believed to be an issue with the pipes but once the Water Department came to investigate, it was discovered to be a sewage backup. Trustee Corbitt contacted HO Kuteyi to relay concerns regarding the way the sewage backup was being cleaned as the backup was traveling onto her property. HO Kuteyi advised the apartment building’s manager that fines will be assessed if a company is not called to mitigate the situation by the time our departments start our quality-of-life inspection. Also, every apartment will be inspected and shut down if found to have an issue. The building will also be condemned until the work is completed and they will have to reapply for their Certificate of Habitability. Vice-President Henry asked if this is a sewer pipe that is affecting every apartment or is it just the main sewer line that's going into the street. HO Kuteyi shared that so far, they have only assessed one apartment belonging to the Super of the building as others were not home when he did an initial inspection. HO Kuteyi shared a camera was placed in the pipes to determine where the leakage was coming from. The leakage is stemming from the middle of the street and affected the Super’s apartment because he lives on the basement level. Trustee Jones-Williams mentioned she is also having an issue in her neighborhood regarding squatters attracting rodents. The squatters previously resided in the home, however, after being evicted they are breaking in to host parties and are leaving substantial amounts of trash and debris once the parties’ end. This has contributed to a major rodent problem in her neighborhood. Trustee Jones-Williams asked if there was a way to check if the property taxes have been paid so the City can recover the property and ensure it is managed by the City to alleviate this issue. HO Kuteyi stated he is still looking into the issue. President Harris asked what the necessary viral load for COVID is to spread easily to someone else and how close does one must be for true exposure. HO Kuteyi shared we do not have the exact number of the viral load; however, the Delta variant produces a higher viral load than the other variants. Also, factors such as mask and distance make the chances of getting COVID-19 higher. President Harris asked if there has been any information regarding the development of the systemic inflammatory response that has been discussed among young people. HO Kuteyi stated he has not heard of any cases amongst our children. President Harris shared it's being considered amongst the younger population but those who have contracted in have been effectively treated with steroids. pg. 6 City of East Orange EAST ORANGE BOARD OF HEALTH NEW JERSEY REGULAR MEETING East Orange Department of Health & Human Services 143 New Street East Orange, New Jersey 07017 September 21, 2021 MEETING MINUTES At the conclusion of Board business, President Harris adjourned the meeting at 7:13 pm. Respectfully submitted, Jo-Ann Mills Board Clerk pg. 7