INFORMATION ON THAT ON OUR WEBSITE.

WE ARE NOW JOINED BY THE DIRECTOR OF CDPH, DR. ARWADY.

IT IS THE THREE YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF COVID-19.

WE JUST SAW THIS STORY.

GIVEN WHAT WE JUST SAW, ISN'T IT TIME FOR THE CITY TO INSTITUTE A SYSTEM WHERE THEY PROACTIVELY INSPECT THESE UNITS AND ABATE THE PROBLEM, EVEN THOUGH IT MAY COST A LOT OF MONEY?

>> A COUPLE OF THINGS.

I'M GLAD THAT YOU'RE COVERING THIS.

A LOT OF THE CONVERSATION HAS BEEN ABOUT THE WATER AND THE PIPES.

THAT AS YOU HEARD , THERE IS LEAD PAINT THAT IS POISONING CHILDREN IN CHICAGO TODAY.

CDPH BEFORE COVID PUT TOGETHER A MODEL WHERE WE CAN PROJECT AND FOUND THE AGE OF THE HOME WAS BASED ON SIMILAR FINDINGS AND A HOME WHERE CHILD COULD BE AT HIGHER RISK FOR LEAD POISONING.

WE WOULD LIKE TO DO MORE.

IT DOES COST MONEY FOR SURE.

LAST YEAR WAS THE FIRST TIME THE CITY PUT SIGNIFICANT RESOURCES TO A BOND.

$47 MILLION TO HELP AUGMENT SOME OF THE FIXING OF SOME OF THESE PLACES FOR PEOPLE WHO MAY NOT QUALIFY FOR THE FEDERAL GRANT.

THERE IS A LOT OF WORK TO DO.

IT IS A BIG PROBLEM.

WE HAVE MADE MAJOR PROGRESS, BUT WE'VE MADE IT WITH A FOCUS ON PAINT.

>> THE CITY KNOWS THE MOST AT RISK UNITS.

SHOULD CITY COUNCIL PASS A HEALTHY HOMES ORDINANCE AND WITH THAT GO ALONG WAY TO HELPING?

>> IT IS CERTAINLY SOMETHING -- PROACTIVE WORK WILL ALWAYS BE SOMETHING TO HELP.

MY BIG INTEREST IS MAKING SURE THAT PROACTIVE INSPECTIONS THAT WE DO START IN THE HIGHEST RISK PLACES.

THAT WE EXPAND THE ABILITY TO DO MORE.

WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO DO SOME OF THAT MODELING.

IT IS ABOUT RESOURCES AND COMMITMENT.

>> HOW MUCH MONEY DO YOU THINK IT WILL TAKE?

>> PART OF IT IS MONEY AND PART OF IT INSPECTORS.

WE LOOKED AT THE PROPOSAL THAT CITY COUNCIL IS CONSIDERING AT THE MOMENT.

WE THINK AS PROJECTED IT WOULD TAKE LIKE 600 INSPECTORS.

THAT IS MORE PEOPLE THEM WORK AT THE ENTIRE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH.

THE SCALE IS SUBSTANTIAL , AND I DO THINK IT IS SOMETHING WE SHOULD BE TAKING STEPS ON.

WE KNOW THERE ARE PROBLEM BUILDINGS AND WE KNOW THERE ARE HOMES THAT HAVE THE POTENTIAL FOR HIGHER LEVEL OF LEAD.

WE COULD BE DOING MORE ON THIS.

AND WE ARE ANXIOUS TO KEEP HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS.

>> MAYBE SOMETHING FOR THE NEXT MAYOR TO KEEP IN MIND AND SOMETHING FOR CITY COUNCIL TO KEEP IN MIND.

YOU ARE SAYING THIS IS A BIGGER DANGER FOR CHILDREN.

LET'S MOVE ON TO COVID.

THREE YEARS AGO ALMOST TO THE DAY, THE NBA CANCELED THEIR SEASON.

BUSINESSES LOCKED DOWN IN SCHOOLS AND TRAVEL FROM EUROPE WAS BANNED.

THIS IS A HEALTH CRISIS LIKE NO OTHER.

>> LOOKING BACK WE HAD BEEN FOLLOWING COVID FOR SOME TIME AND WE HAD SOME PIECES, BUT IN EARLY MARCH WHEN IT ALL STARTED, THAT IS WHEN IT STARTED FOR EVERYBODY.

WE WENT FROM A WEEK WHEN WE WERE TESTING SAMPLES ACROSS THE CITY AND FOUND ZERO COVID AND THE NEXT WEEK 40% OF THE SAMPLES WAS POSITIVE.

IT WAS REMARKABLE.

>> DID THAT ALARM YOU AS TO WHERE THIS MIGHT BE HEADED TO OVERWHELMED HOSPITALS?

>> HERE WE WERE IN SOME WAYS LUCKY TO BE ABLE TO SEE WHAT HAD HAPPENED IN ITALY AND CUT TO AN EXTENT, NEW YORK.

WATCHING ITALY WAS A CITY THAT HAS A GOOD PUBLIC HEALTH SYSTEM.

WE WATCH THAT COUNTRY BECOME QUICKLY OVERWHELMED.

SO I THINK SOME OF THE DECISIONS , THOSE DIFFICULT DECISIONS AROUND SHUTDOWNS AND MAJOR CHANGES WERE COMING OUT OF LOOKING AT WHAT HAPPENED IN OTHER SETTINGS.

COVID HIT SO HARD HERE , BUT COMPARED TO WHAT WE SAW NEW YORK AND COMPARED TO WHAT WE SAW IN ITALY, SOME OF THOSE HARD DECISIONS WITH THE IMPORTANT ONES.

>> THERE IS A LOT OF MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACKING.

IN HINDSIGHT , SHUTTING DOWN SCHOOLS AND BUSINESSES , DID THAT WORK AND WERE THOSE THE RIGHT DECISIONS?

>> ALWAYS YOU MAKE YOUR DECISIONS BASED ON THE INFORMATION THAT YOU HAVE AT THAT TIME.

ESPECIALLY AT THE BEGINNING WHEN WE KNEW NEXT TO NOTHING ABOUT HOW IT SPREAD.

WE ASSUMED THAT IT SPREAD LIKE OTHER CORONAVIRUS IS.

AND YOU COULD NOT SPREAD THAT YOU HAD SYMPTOMS.

IT WAS VERY CLEAR THAT IT WAS OVERWHELMING HEALTH SYSTEMS AND KILLING PEOPLE.

AND YOU ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO ACT DECISIVELY AT THE BEGINNING.

I THINK THE SCHOOL CONVERSATION IS ONE THAT ONCE WE HAD DATA AND WE KNEW THAT IT WAS APPROPRIATE FOR CHILDREN TO BE IN SCHOOL, IT WAS SOMETHING THAT WE PUSHED HARD TO COME BACK AROUND ON THE NEXT SCHOOL YEAR.

IT'S ABOUT MAKING DECISIONS WITH THE BEST INFORMATION WE HAVE AT THE TIME.

I WANT CHICAGO TO KNOW THAT IT IS ABSOLUTELY WHAT WE DID EVERY POINT.

>> THAT WAS ONE OF THE FIRST SHUTDOWNS .

THE OUTBREAK HAPPENED AT SCHOOL AND I REMEMBER IT SHUTTING DOWN RIGHT AWAY.

COVID IS STILL WITH US.

PEOPLE EVERY DAY HAVE COVID FOR THE SECOND OR THIRD TIME.

WHAT WOULD YOU ASSESS THE STATE WE ARE IN?

WE ARE AT A LOW COVID LEVEL.

WE WILL ALWAYS, EVERY COUNTY, ARE WE AT A LOW LEVEL OR MEDIUM LEVEL OR HIGH-LEVEL?

IT MEANS THERE ARE PEOPLE STILL GETTING COVID.

WE ARE NOT SEEING A HIGH NUMBER OF HOSPITALIZATIONS AND WE ARE ACTING HOSPITALS OVERWHELMED.

AND IT MEANS THAT YOU DON'T NEED TO HAVE THE STRONGER MEASURES IN PLACE.

IT ALSO MEANS -- I THINK OF IT SORT OF LIKE THE FLU IN SOME WAYS.

IT IS MORE DANGEROUS THAN THE FLU.

IS STILL HOSPITALIZING 20 TO 30 PEOPLE EVERY DAY AND KILLING ONE PERSON EVERY DAY.

BUT IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE WILL SEE SOME SEASONAL PATTERNS.

WE HAVE TOOLS THAT WE DID NOT HAVE.

THE BIG ONE IN THE SECOND YEAR WAS THE VACCINE.

AN EARLY TREATMENT WAS IN THE THIRD YEAR.

WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO CONTAIN IT IN A WAY THAT WE DID NOT BEGINNING.

>> WOULD YOU RECOMMEND YEARLY VACCINE BOOSTERS?

>> WE WILL SEE WHAT HAPPENS, BUT MY GUESS IS THAT MOST LIKELY EVERY FALL IN THE SAME WAY WE DO BOOSTER FOR THE FLU , MY GUESS IS THAT THAT IS WHAT WE WILL DO FOR COVID.

MOST LIKELY EVERY FALL YOU WILL GET A COVID AND A FLU SHOT TO HELP PROTECT YOU.

IT COULD ALWAYS THROWS A CURVEBALL, BUT ASSUMING WE DON'T SEE A MAJOR CHANGE IN THE BIARRITZ ITSELF, A SCARY VARIANT , WE HAVE A HIGH LEVEL OF IMMUNITY.

>> I WANT TO ASK YOU.

YOU HAVE A NEW CHIEF EXECUTIVE IN MAY.

DO YOU WANT TO STAY ON THIS POST?

>> THAT IS ABSOLUTELY MY GOAL.

I LOVE MY JOB AND I'M FIRST AND FOREMOST A PUBLIC HEALTH ENTHUSIAST.

I HOPE TO STAY ON.