Portions of City Hall underwent sanitization last week after a contractor for the city tested positive for COVID-19 shortly after being inside the building.
City officials said the contract employee, who does work for the city’s Planning and Building Department, received the test result on Tuesday, May 19, and had been to City Hall twice the prior week, visiting the lobby area and the front counter used by the department. All Planning and Building staff members were subsequently tested for the disease and the building underwent sanitization by the San Marino Fire Department.
Capt. Jason Sutliff and other members of the Fire Department are trained to mix a deep-cleaning sanitizing solution, which is used on targeted surfaces to destroy potential viruses. This training allowed the city to avoid a costly third-party contract to have deep cleaning services as needed during the pandemic.
“We went through that process of sanitizing the Planning and Building area of City Hall and we also hit the restrooms,” Fire Chief Mario Rueda explained. “It was one of the needs we anticipated early on. Candidly, the firefighters are continually going through sanitizing and decontamination processes when they come back from calls so they can stay safe, and so they don’t bring it to the next patient.
“He’s really driven the effort in the city here,” Rueda said of Sutliff. “He’s trained two others. We have done this to other facilities. We did the library and we did the San Marino Center. The ambulance gets sanitized after every call where someone is sick. The fire station and firetruck are sanitized each week.”
The development came as the city reached a grim milestone: the first time a resident’s death has been attributed to COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus declared a global pandemic in March. The city has had at least 22 residents diagnosed with the disease, among 47,822 throughout Los Angeles County recorded by the Department of Public Health as of Tuesday; 2,143 county residents have died from COVID-19. Further information about the local victim was not available.
City Manager Marcella Marlowe acknowledged this week the reality that many city employees have in some way been affected by the disease’s toll, whether it’s a friend or family member who has been diagnosed or killed.
“We have many people who have that connection,” she said. “Nobody is underestimating this disease, and it’s sobering. Everyone is taking it seriously.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom this week announced the state was now allowing counties — under their individual guidelines — to permit the reopening of additional retail stores as well as hair salons and barbershops. The governor earlier this month allowed some retailers to resume operations on a curbside pickup basis, but now those stores are expected to be able to allow a limited number of shoppers inside while wearing face coverings, as counties determine.
Marlowe added that the city’s emergency closures remain in effect until June 30, but as always the situation remains fairly fluid.
“Obviously, it’s a soft closure,” she said. “We are going to reactivate the commission meetings, but they will be 100% virtual.”
Marlowe said she expects myriad changes from both the state and county to continue rolling out this week. There has been mounting public pressure to lift restrictions on religious institutions and other public spaces as the “Safer at Home” order in L.A. County and similar shelter-in-place restrictions from the state approach their third month.
“We’re seeing the whole spectrum of people’s response in San Marino and we continue to appreciate the community’s support as we navigate the county’s changing guidelines,” Marlowe added.
First COVID-19 Death Reported in San Marino, City Hall Sanitized
