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D.3
To: Board of Supervisors
From: David Twa, County Administrator
Date: March  10, 2020
The Seal of Contra Costa County, CA
Contra
Costa
County
Subject: COVID-19 - Delcaring a Local Emergency

APPROVE OTHER
RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE

Action of Board On:   03/10/2020
APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER
Clerks Notes:

VOTE OF SUPERVISORS

AYE:
John Gioia, District I Supervisor
Candace Andersen, District II Supervisor
Diane Burgis, District III Supervisor
Karen Mitchoff, District IV Supervisor
Federal D. Glover, District V Supervisor
Contact: David Twa, County Administrator
I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown.
ATTESTED:     March  10, 2020
David Twa,
 
BY: , Deputy

 

RECOMMENDATION(S):

1. RECEIVE a report from the Health Services Director and Public Health Director regarding the status of coronavirus disease 2019 (“COVID-19”) in this County and its impacts on the availability of essential medical supplies.  
  

2. ADOPT Resolution No. 2020/92, proclaiming the existence of a local emergency in this County caused by the introduction of COVID-19.  

RECOMMENDATION(S): (CONT'D)
  
3. ADOPT Resolution No. 2020/91, requesting the Governor to proclaim the County to be in a state of emergency.  

FISCAL IMPACT:

No impact to the General Fund is anticipated by this action. Proclaiming a local emergency could give rise to state or federal assistance.

BACKGROUND:

COVID-19, an infectious disease in humans that is caused by a novel coronavirus first detected in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, in December 2019, has emerged as a world-wide pandemic. According to a March 3, 2020, situation report by the World Health Organization, the disease has spread to at least 72 nations across the globe, including the United States. As of March 3, there were 90,870 confirmed cases, 80,304 in China and 10,556 cases outside of China. In recent days, there have been more new cases outside of China than within China. Of 105 confirmed cases in the United States as of March 3, 43 were in California and 26 were in the San Francisco Bay Area. Five cases have been treated in Contra Costa County as of March 4, with the most recent determined to have been community-acquired. The public has no known natural immunity to the virus that causes COVID-19, and there is currently no vaccine to offer protection to the public. Treatment options are limited.  
  
On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of COVID-19 a public health emergency of international concern. On January 31, 2020, the Secretary of Health and Human Services declared that the coronavirus presents a public health emergency in the United States, and President Trump issued a proclamation suspending entries into the United States by foreign nationals who had been present in China in the previous two weeks. As of February 2, 2020, U.S. citizens returning to the United States from Hubei Province have been subject to mandatory quarantines, and those returning from other areas in China undergo screening and monitored self-quarantines. Symptomatic persons are placed in federal quarantine at federal facilities, one being at Travis Air Force base in Solano County.  
  
Test kits are being supplied by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to local public health laboratories to test for presence of COVID-19. One of them – the only one in Contra Costa County – is the Contra Costa Public Health Laboratory in Martinez. Eighty test kits – sufficient to test 40 persons – arrived here on February 29, 2020. Another 100 test kits are on order. Staff expects rapid depletion of this supply of kits. If the Martinez laboratory runs out of test kits, samples will be sent to the CDC or a state public health lab, located in Richmond, which is also able to perform COVID-19 testing.  
  
As of March 3, hospitals in Contra Costa County have treated five individuals with suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19. Four were among travelers routed through federal quarantine at Travis Air Force Base. The majority of these travelers returned to the United States from Japan after being in quarantine on the Diamond Princess cruise ship. The fifth individual is a Contra Costa County resident. As noted above, the fifth case has been determined to have been community-acquired – i.e., transmitted in the absence of any association with travel or contact with other known cases. There are cases of this type in Santa Clara, Solano and Alameda counties, the City of Berkeley, and other parts of the United States.  
  
The emergence of person-to-person transmission gives rise to public concerns, impacting the capacity of health care facilities and causing shortages in essential health care supplies. In particular, in this County, there is now a shortage of personal protective equipment, including specifically surgical masks, which are typically issued to patients who present with viral symptoms, as a means to prevent transmission. Hand sanitizer is also in short supply. Health Services has searched for and been unable to obtain supplies of these materials locally. Staff has identified the Strategic National Stockpile as a potential source of assistance that might be available from the federal government should the State of California request it.  
  
Proclaiming a local emergency and requesting the Governor to declare a state of emergency is a way for counties and other local jurisdictions to potentially obtain state financial assistance. (See Gov. Code, § 8680 et seq.) When a state cannot effectively respond to an emergency without federal assistance, upon request of the Governor, the President of the United States can declare an emergency, thereby triggering the authority to provide federal aid to state and local agencies. (See 42 U.S.C. §§ 5191-5192.) As of March 3, local emergencies related to COVID-19 have been proclaimed in Santa Clara, San Diego, Orange, Solano and Sonoma counties, and the City and County of San Francisco. Local health emergencies have been declared in Santa Clara, San Diego, Orange, Alameda and Sonoma counties.  

CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:

A local emergency would not be declared, and the County may be unable to access state or federal assistance to respond to COVID-19.

CLERK'S ADDENDUM

Speakers:  Vicky Davidson, California Nurses Association; Corey Halloran, Teamsters 856; Josh Anijer, Contra Costa Labor Council.

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