The Indian Health Service held a conference call with members of the media on the afternoon of March 17, 2020. Following are the remarks as prepared for delivery by Michael Toedt, who serves as the chief medical officer for the IHS.<\/p>\n
Remarks for RADM Michael Toedt
\nIHS Media Call \u2014 COVlD-19<\/p>\n
March 17, 2020 I 3:00 p.m. EDT<\/p>\n
Thank you all for joining us for this conversation about the IHS response to the\u00a0ongoing coronavirus outbreak. The Indian Health Service and our partners across\u00a0the Department of Health and Human Services are coordinating a comprehensive\u00a0public health response for the agency.<\/p>\n
Across the IHS, we remain strongly committed to working with our tribal and\u00a0urban Indian organization partners. We have been holding weekly phone calls\u00a0with these partners to hear their concerns, listen to their input and to provide\u00a0updates.<\/p>\n
The IHS is also in close communication with the White House and other federal\u00a0agencies to ensure comprehensive communication is shared with Indian Country.\u00a0The White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs is coordinating the Indian\u00a0Country COVID-19 Response Team in unison with the Department of Health and\u00a0Human Services to ensure there is a united front across federal agencies with\u00a0jurisdiction in Indian Country.<\/p>\n
The Indian Country COVID-19 Response Team will be a part of the President\u2019s\u00a0Coronavirus Task Force. The response team includes various organizations across\u00a0the federal government including the White House Office of Intergovernmental\u00a0Affairs, HHS, FEMA, Department of Interior, VA, the Centers for Disease Control\u00a0and Prevention, and the Indian Health Service. On Wednesday, March 18, at 2:00\u00a0PM eastern time, the White House Indian Country COVID-19 Response Team will\u00a0host a nationwide, a||-tribes conference call to support tribal leadership in driving readiness to prepare for and respond to COVID-19 in Indian Country.<\/p>\n
IHS facilities are capable of testing patients for COVID-19. Clinicians are following\u00a0CDC guidelines and work in coordination with state public health officials to\u00a0determine who should be tested. Where patients test positive, IHS is working\u00a0closely with the state and\/or tribes to identify anyone else in the community who\u00a0has been in close contact with the patient and may need to be tested<\/p>\n
We are pushing supplies out from the IHS National Supply Service Center to\u00a0regional centers and on to IHS, tribal, and urban facilities as quickly as possible.<\/p>\n
Some of our service units are leading the way in implementing efforts to reduce\u00a0the risk of transmission and increase efficiency of limited staffing, such as at the\u00a0Gallup Indian Medical Center in New Mexico, where they have implemented a\u00a0drive-up testing location and are using te|ehea|th by replacing office visits such as\u00a0for prescription refills with phone calls for some patients.<\/p>\n
This is an emerging, rapidly evolving situation. More cases of COVID-19 are likely\u00a0to be identified in the coming days. The potential public health threat posed by\u00a0COVID-19 is very high.<\/p>\n
While any direct impacts of this outbreak to Indian Country are not yet known, we\u00a0must be vigilant in our efforts to prevent the spread of infections among our\u00a0patients and within the communities we serve. We can confirm that three IHS\u00a0patients have tested presumptive positive. One in the IHS Portland Area, one in\u00a0the IHS Great Plains Area, and one in the Navajo Area.<\/p>\n
One of the partner agencies we are working closely with is the Centers for Disease\u00a0Control and Prevention. I want to say thank you to Dr. Jay Butler, the deputy\u00a0director for infectious diseases at the CDC, for joining our media call today to\u00a0answer your questions. I will now hand it over to Dr. Butler.<\/p>\n