The Wood County EMA team would like to give local residents an update on COVID-19, what we have done and what we will be doing in the days and weeks to come.
The first question we are asked: “is COVID-19 as bad as it appears from new reports?” The simple answer is yes. It is important to remember while many of us have had the flu before and every year approximately 50,000 people die from the flu, there are some significant differences. Mainly, as the governor has stated: “It is twice as contagious and 20 times more deadly.”
COVID-19 is a new strain of Coronavirus not seen before. This presents a major challenge from the standpoint of not having test and vaccine as with other illnesses. To manufacture a test you need to know what lab values are of concern and which are not. If a test false positives or negatives, it is of little to no value. If a vaccine is not safe or effective it too is of little value.
The only preventative measure we currently have is social distancing along with good hygiene/hand washing techniques. These should be a part of our everyday life. As many medical professionals have said, ask yourself if your exposure to the public is necessary. At times it most certainly will be, at other times it is not. Only the individual can make that decision.
What is the EMA doing to assist?
Before the first case was identified in Ohio, the EMA has been engaged with state and local partners to maintain our situational awareness in Wood County. We have been reviewing plans, supply chains and our supplies knowing they all will be needed at some point.
After the first case was identified, we have been in regular communication with all the county EMAs in our area to ensure we can back each other up as needed. Our communication with the Wood County Health Department has increased, as well as with numerous other agencies both governmental, non-profit and the private sector.
What will the EMA be doing now COVID-19 is in Ohio?
Our first step is activating our Emergency Operations Center (EOC) at a “virtual lev.” This means the EOC will be open and prepared to respond should the need arise. During normal business hours the EOC will be active and respond to any and all requests.
EMA staff we be assuming various roles to stream line the rapid influx of demands placed on the EMA. These roles will be flexible to accommodate the increase in meetings, conference calls and providing information to the public. Our concern is should one or more of our staff becomes infected with COVID-19 we will need to continue on a modified operations basis. We have a Continuity of Operations Plan in place should the need arise.
It is the goal of the EMA to provide the most up-to-date information and how it may impact Wood County residents, communities, businesses and visitors. We will be providing a situation report based on information received in to our EOC. Our goal is to not only improve communication to our county, but to encourage 2-way communication from communities to our office.
The process for requesting supplies from the State EOC
In order to make sure the communities that need assistance get the help they need, all request for assistance must come from the EMA. This allows counties who really need help get what they need. When we make a mission request, it is based on a specific need not a specific request. As an example: we need water for 100 people for 2 days. Not we need 200 cases of water. Remember, Cuyahoga County has 14 cases of COVID-19 and Wood County does not have any. Therefore, Cuyahoga may get preference over Wood County.
While this is a very effective way to make sure precious resources are not wasted, it takes time for the request to make it to Wood County. For first responders, critical facilities, patient care facilities such as nursing homes it may be quicker to reach out to local suppliers (grocery stores, box and specialty stores) and explain your needs. We have spoken to a number of these suppliers in Wood County and they are happy to help when they can. Unfortunately, hand sanitizer is in such short supply and most do not know when it will arrive.
Conclusion
Even though most people never thought something such as COVID-19 was even a remote possibility, I personally have spent almost 40 years training on such a scenario. The Wood County Health Department as well as many of our partners (Ohio EMA, Ohio Department of Health, CDC and many others) have people trained to respond to just such an event. Many of the decisions made are based on previous historical incidents, exercises and modeling based on how COVID-19 responded in other countries.
How this plays out will in large part be how our communities respond. The message from all of us needs to be a unified voice with the same message. If people maintain social distancing and good hygiene practices we can lessen the impact saving lives, heartache and the needless illness in our county.
