San Diego

Gloria Calls for State Audit of Region's Handling of Hepatitis A Outbreak

At times, the city and county appeared to be at odds with selecting the best methods to combat the crisis.

Assemblymember Todd Gloria (D-78th District) has called for a state audit of the region's response to the Hepatitis A outbreak.

"I will ask state auditors to review the region's Hepatitis A response," Gloria said in a social media post on Monday. "Protecting the public health demands we understand what worked and what did not."

Gloria's concern rose after the Union-Tribune reported that San Diego officials used out-of-town workers to sanitize sidewalks in an attempt to stop the disease's spread. The newspaper obtained documents that showed the city paid thousands of dollars in overtime to shuttle workers back and forth to Los Angeles.

Some local business owners that offer similar sidewalk cleaning services noted the city's billing records and costs appeared high, according to the Union-Tribune. It was not clear why county and city officials did not work with local companies which may have reduced overall expenses.

At times, the city and county appeared to be at odds with selecting the best methods to combat the crisis. Gloria was part of a group of local and state officials that criticized the county's reaction to the health crisis last year.

The group proposed an emergency action plan, calling on the county to spend more funds on battling the outbreak.

In total, there were 577 cases of Hepatitis A reported during the outbreak in San Diego County. That included 396 hospitalizations and 20 deaths, before county leaders ended the public health emergency in late January.

"Identifying lessons learned will save lives in the future," added Gloria.

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