City employees man the telephones in the Emergency Operations Center, which residents are asked to call to get the latest COVID-19 updates and ask for assistance in getting supplies during the pandemic.
First responders here are staying up to date and prepared with regard to the global spread of coronavirus and urge residents to up the ante on hygiene practice as a strong precautionary step.
City officials countywide are having conference calls with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health three times a week related to the coronavirus, formally known as COVID-19. Each jurisdiction is also following safety protocols established by the department.
These protocols are of particular importance to San Marino’s firefighters, who respond largely to medical calls among the city’s older residents. In the early days of the infection, which originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan, the San Marino Fire Department preemptively stocked up on the standard safety kit used by personnel during responses to people with infectious diseases.
“The chief’s been very proactive,” said Firefighter Jeff Tsay, the paramedic coordinator for the SMFD. “Before this became widespread, he was already telling us to order more protective equipment. We always have these on hand for when a disaster strikes, not just with COVID.”
These kits include gowns, safety glasses, disinfecting towelettes, biohazard bags and — an important component in this case — the appropriate type of respirator mask for the first responder; in fact, the entire package of equipment meets or exceeds minimum standards established by the Centers for Disease Control for COVID-19 protection. Responding firefighters — who in San Marino are all designated as paramedics as well — will know whether to make use of the kits from the initial dispatch. When a medical call comes in, the dispatcher runs the caller through several questions to determine whether they potentially have an infectious disease.
For COVID-19, callers are specifically being screened for whether they’ve traveled internationally within the last 21 days — or been in contact with someone who has — and whether they’re showing a fever in excess of 100.5 degrees, coughing or shortness of breath.
“If somebody has had international travel, we’ll get a heads-up,” Fire Chief Mario Rueda said.
News coverage of COVID-19 has been constant since the illness’ spread in China was first documented. As the disease has spread to 107 countries with more than 110,000 diagnoses (according to Johns Hopkins University as of Monday), communities fearing fallout from the outbreak have scrambled to empty store shelves of long-term essentials like bottled water, toiletries and, to the chagrin of medical professionals, facemasks. Most commercially available facemasks will not protect users from COVID-19 exposure, and the severely diminished supply hampers the abilities of hospitals to acquire them for surgical procedures.
Supplies of equipment for emergency responders are also being strained thanks to the continuing spread of the virus, which presents as a respiratory infection.
“Fortunately, because of Chief Rueda’s foresight, we were able to get a lot of this ordered before it became a problem,” Tsay said.
There were 564 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States throughout 34 states, including California. The 22 stateside fatalities include one in California, and there were 3,841 fatalities worldwide, the vast majority in China. Outside of China, large outbreaks are materializing in Italy, South Korea and Iran. Domestically, states including California, Washington, Illinois, New Jersey and New York have declared states of emergency in response to concentrated outbreaks.
Meanwhile, Public Health confirmed Wednesday its first coronavirus-related death and six new cases, bringing the county’s total to 27. The individual who died was “an older adult who traveled extensively over the past month, including a long layover in South Korea,” the department said in a statement. Among its six additional positive cases, one is presumed to be the second case of community transmission.
“Our exposure here in L.A. is still fairly low,” Rueda said. “That’s out of 10 million people.”
Cities also are preparing for scenarios in which a substantial number of employees would be quarantined because of exposure to COVID-19, which does not yet have a vaccine or cure.
“Say 30% of our people weren’t at work. What would we have to do to keep things running?” Rueda posited, as an example.
Locally, the Huntington Library announced this week it was canceling a series of larger scale programs in the coming months, most notably the annual San Marino Day celebration scheduled for April 14. The kickoff celebration for the completion of the latest Chinese Garden additions also is postponed.
Officials with the San Marino Unified School District also continue to monitor new developments with the outbreak and remain in constant contact with SMFD, which, combined with the San Marino Police Department, manages the city’s Emergency Operations Center. In his weekly newsletter, San Marino High School Principal Issaic Gates related the present feelings of anxiety and uncertainty to growing up in Florida, where the threat of hurricanes and tropical storms looms for half of each year.
“As principal, I have instinctively fallen back on my Floridian hurricane training,” Gates wrote. “And because of the novelty of this storm, I’m asking two questions: ‘What are the authorities — the L.A. County Department of Public Health — reporting?’ and ‘As a community, how do we best prepare?’ It’s essential to rely on current information to answer these two questions.”
In response to colleges and school districts in other parts of the nation transitioning to remote and online schedules, Amber Nuuvali, SMUSD’s chief communication officer, reported that county officials are not asking schools to take drastic measures at this time and that the district will continue to operate under its scheduled calendar. District officials also urged families to keep children home if they are sick.
As general precautions, residents are advised to thoroughly wash hands periodically for at least 20 seconds and to avoid touching their faces with unwashed hands. Frequently touched and used objects should be regularly disinfected. In the absence of regular soap and water, use alcohol-based hand sanitizers that are at least 60% alcohol. If you have not had a current flu shot, you are advised to do so.
The city will frequently post current information on its website at cityofsanmarino.org. Additionally, authoritative sources for COVID-19 updates include:
• L.A. County Department of Public Health: publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/Coronavirus
• California Department of Public Health: cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pahes/Immunization/nCOV2019.aspx
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: cdc.gov/coronavirus/novel-coronavirus-2019.html
• World Health Organization: who.int/health-topics/coronavirus
