The Chatham County School Board has voted to lift the mask mandate in Chatham County Schools starting Monday, Mar. 7. The Omniscient asked Chatham County Public Health Director Mike Zelek some questions about his role as Public Health Director and his thoughts on the mandate being repealed.
Q: What does your job as Public Health Director entail?
A: Big picture, a public health director is tasked with being the lead health strategist for a community. Public health directors look at conditions that can improve or impede people from living healthy lives, with a focus on equity and who is more likely to encounter barriers to health. The goal is to address these barriers through prevention/root cause work and foster healthy environments. I say public health is a team sport, and this work cannot be done without partnerships and relationships. I work closely with healthcare providers, schools, organizations, county departments, workplaces, and residents on a daily basis.
Our public health department has 4 divisions: Administration, Health Promotion & Policy, Clinical & Community Health Services, and Environmental Health. The scope of our work is broad, from restaurant inspections and vital records to community assessment, communications, clinical services, and outreach (and much more). I do my best to offer support to these different areas, addressing questions and concerns as they arise and seeking opportunities to advance our work and make us a better, more community-centered department.
Q:What was it like being elected during the pandemic?
A: Public Health Directors are appointed by the Board of Health, and I was named interim public health director in June 2020, soon after the COVID-19 pandemic began. The nature of the work has evolved as COVID-19 has evolved, but there is rarely a day when something COVID-19 related doesn’t come up. I have become used to adapting my schedule to what emerges each day, as we continue to respond to a public health emergency. Prior to the pandemic, most people were unaware of the work a public health department does. The pandemic has placed a greater focus on what we do and raised awareness of public health as a field. This is an opportunity for us to highlight our work, both in responding to the pandemic and in the broad public health services we offer outside of COVID-19. It has certainly not been boring!
Q:How has the role of Public Health Director changed during the pandemic?
I often say I have only known the Public Health Director role firsthand during the pandemic, and I am eager to see what it is like once things settle down. Public Health Directors are much more in the spotlight than ever before. In the 7 years I worked with the Chatham County Public Health Department before COVID-19, we may have gotten 2-3 calls from media other than from the local newspaper. In the last 2 years, there were times when I did that many interviews in a day. But that is part of the role during this critical time for public health, and I feel a responsibility to do all I can to share reliable public health information and guidance with our community.
Q: Do you think that the mask mandate being lifted will have a significant impact on COVID transmission in Chatham County?
A: I have long said it is important to consider where things are when making decisions and recommendations on control measures. For this, we look to the metrics, including case rates, hospitalizations, and vaccinations. In the last 6 weeks, we have come a long way from the peak of the Omicron surge. Case rates per 100,000 residents over the past 7 days topped out at over 1,400 in mid-January and recently fell to below 100, which is no longer considered high community transmission. Hospital capacity has improved as well, and vaccines are now widely available for everyone ages 5 and older. This is all really good news that allows us to relax some measures without the same level of risk we would have during the surge. We will continue to monitor metrics and I am optimistic COVID-19 transmission will continue to decline in the days and weeks ahead. And while mandates are being lifted, that does not mean you should not wear a mask. I will continue to do so, especially in crowded indoor settings, keeping in mind that my son is too young to be vaccinated. This is OK, and I hope we respect each other as we continue to navigate these evolving and challenging times.
