REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF THE COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO
AND RECORD OF ACTION
March 10, 2020
FROM
GARY McBRIDE, Chief Executive Officer, County Administrative Office
SUBJECT
Title
Ratify Declaration of Local Health Emergency
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Find that there is an urgent need to ratify the proclamation of a local health emergency (Attachment A) within San Bernardino County resulting from the worldwide health threat related to the Novel Coronavirus.
(Presenter: Trudy Raymundo, Director of Public Health, 387-9146)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Provide for the Safety, Health and Social Service Needs of County Residents.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this item will not require the use of additional Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost) as there is no cost or financial impact associated with the proclamation or continuing this local emergency. However, the County could incur significant costs resulting from this emergency. These costs, which are not fully determined at this time, could potentially require the use of additional Discretionary General Funding. Should this occur, a future item will be submitted to the Board of Supervisors (Board) for approval of additional Discretionary General Funding.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) originated in Wuhan, China in late 2019 and began spreading, initially, within China and then to other countries. On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak to be a “public health emergency of international concern”. This was followed on January 31, 2020 by the United States Human Services Secretary declaring a public health emergency. Cases internationally, within the US and within California (as evidenced by the Governor’s Proclamation) continue to rise.
There currently exists a threat of a local emergency due to the worldwide spread of COVID-19, which causes infectious disease resulting in symptoms of fever, coughing and shortness of breath with outcomes ranging from mild to severe illness and in some cases, death.
The San Bernardino County Operational Area, which coordinates emergency management provisions within the County, has begun the complex process of assessing the effects of COVID-19. The County of San Bernardino has a population of 2,153,203 and is the 5th largest county in California, has a high volume airport within its jurisdiction, which has the potential to result in significant spreading of the disease, has a homeless population that increased 23% in 2019 and the potential for an outbreak among the unsheltered population is of increasing concern among public health officials.
As a result of the spread of the disease in California, the Governor issued a Proclamation of a State of Emergency (Governor’s Proclamation) on March 4, 2020 in order to deal with the cases in California. Other local agencies have also declared a local public health emergency in an attempt to marshal the resources necessary to prevent or contain the spread of the disease.
Pursuant to the Governor’s Proclamation, the 30-day time period in Health and Safety Code section 101080, within which a local agency must renew a local health emergency, has been waived. However, the initial ratification by the local agency of the declaration of a public health emergency was not waived and as a result, the Declaration by the Public Health Officer would expire within seven days, at a time when the Board will not be in session. Once the Declaration is ratified, it would be in effect until the Board terminates the local health emergency.
PROCUREMENT
N/A
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Michelle Blakemore, County Counsel, 387-5455) on March 10, 2020; County Administrative Office (Stephenie Shea, Administrative Analyst, 387-4919) on March 10, 2020; and Finance and Administration (Matthew Erickson, County Chief Financial Officer, 387-5423) on March 10, 2020.