Wood County Emergency Management Agency’s Emergency Operation Center’s Situation Report on COVID-19 Response
This April 13 report communicates Wood County Emergency Operations Center’s activity over the past 24 hours.
Executive Summary:
Gov. Mike DeWine – Thanked the churches and the public for staying home, having remote services on Easter. General Assembly money approved – $8.8 million for the buildout of the hospital capacity, money for the purchase of 2,000 ventilators, 5 million N-95s, $50 million for public safety, and more.
Testing – In regards to the private sector. Make sure what you are purchasing has the FDA emergency use approval, otherwise there’s no way to know if the testing is going to be valid. He suggested to use only companies on the FDA website listed as approved.
National Guard was approved by the governor to provide medical assistance to Pickaway state prison. Medics were dispatched there today, they are prepared to send up to 30 soldiers. One state inmate housed there has died, this individual tested positive for COVID-19 and did have underlying medical conditions.
Nursing homes – this population is vulnerable. Order signed today by Dr. Acton to require long term care facilities to notify residents and staff if a resident or staff becomes infected within 24 hours. They are working on a list of facilities where a staff or resident has tested positive, this will be posted on the coronavirus.ohio.gov website.
Strive for 5 challenge – ask everyone to reach out to five people every day in any way you can for the next 30 days. Reduces feelings of isolation and lessens anxiety by providing human interaction.
Liquor stores – order to be signed that in-person sale of liquor prohibited to those without an Ohio license – in certain counties. Wood County is not affected. West Virginia has been already doing this.
Lt. Gov. Jon Husted – said DeWine signed an order allocating $5 million in emergency funding to support food banks. Continued improvement going on for unemployment filing structure. As of today, 40,000 jobs are posted on coronavirus.ohio.gov/jobsearch.
Voting – Two weeks from today absentee ballots will need to be postmarked. Visit Voteohio.gov to request an absentee ballot.
Thank you to businesses giving feedback during these times to ensure the workplaces are safe.
Dr. Amy Acton – 65,000 tests have been done to date in Ohio. We have to keep close tabs on the congregate populations (jails, nursing homes, etc.). These are high risk areas for outbreak. They will be sharing the names of the facilities that have positive cases. “It is not the fault of a nursing home, most are doing an outstanding job. This disease is so contagious.” We have to be very careful as we move forward. The handmade masks we are wearing are actually being viewed as another weapon to get back to normalcy. “Don your cape, don your mask.” We are looking at a year of using them, and we all need to get used to this concept.
Ohio Confirmed Cases: 6,881
Ohio Probable Cases: 94
Ohio Total Confirmed plus Probable: 6,975
Ohio Hospitalizations: 2,033
ICU Admissions: 613
Ohio Confirmed COVID Deaths: 268
Ohio Probable COVID Deaths: 6
Wood County Cases (total plus probable): 59
Wood County Hospitalizations: 24
Wood County Deaths: 4
County EOC Objectives:
1. Coordinate the county’s response to limit spread of COVID-19; and maintain medical care.
2. Provide timely, clear, and consistent messaging to the public, stakeholders and media on the status of COVID-19 and actions the public can take to keep themselves safe.
3. Determine how county agencies will continue delivery of essential services to Wood County residents while following COVID-19 public health guidelines.
EMA Actions Taken/Planned Actions:
An abbreviated version of this report can be found at: http://woodcountyema.org/covid-19/ .
We have been having conference calls with the Wood County Health Department, Wood County Hospital, neighboring county EMAs, BGSU, and the Ohio EMA multiple times a week. We continue to monitor all information coming in to maintain situational awareness. We have also been regular guests on the Clint Corpe WBGU radio show (remotely) in an effort to continue to share information as it comes in to us.
Thank you to all of our handmade mask donors for all of your hard work. Also, thank you to BiG Fab labs, and the Wood County District Public Library for reaching out to us today on how you can help.
Also, please contact us if:
– If any fraternal groups, service groups, faith-based groups want to sign up to be on a call list as needs arise in the county
– If you have PPE to donate, if you have any PPE needs or have any questions
Public Health:
There are 6881 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Ohio. There are 59 cases (total confirmed plus probable) presently in Wood County, 24 of those hospitalized, 4 deaths. 86 counties have confirmed cases now.
Health department staff are answering calls regarding testing, essential business concerns, employee safety, the stay-at-home order and many other questions. Case follow-up and close contact tracing is being coordinated by a team of employees.
Respirator fit testing/training is being done for a few partners who have not had to consider wearing N95s in the past and do not have another source for this.
As the Regional Public Health Coordinator, employees are sharing information across the region and keeping informed of the status of other local health departments.
The Wood County Health Department has received hundreds of complaints of non-essential businesses being open or not following the mandates to keep employees safe. Department employees have followed up on every complaint, said Heath Commissioner Ben Batey at Thursday’s board of health meeting. Environmental Health has been tasked with those complaints, and Director Lana Glore has developed a spreadsheet of the list of all the follow-up that have been done.
Healthcare:
If any healthcare facilities are running low on supplies, or have any questions or needs please reach out to us. We are always looking for information on what is going on in your facility so we can anticipate future needs. Please keep in close contact with us with any changes to your supply inventory or situation.
Law Enforcement/Fire/EMS:
National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week is April 12-18. Your dispatchers and other public safety telecommunicators serve as a vital link between your community and fire, medical, and law enforcement agencies. Thank you.
The EMA and health department have been working with local EMS to try to provide them with much needed PPE. Please understand that the demand far outweighs the supply at this time across the entire country. This is why current guidance from the state is focused around conservation. Sharing with your neighbors is being strongly encouraged by the state as a form of mutual aid. Many PPE requests have been submitted and addressed. If you have a need, please put in a formal request in writing to: woodcountyema@co.wood.oh.us . We will need an inventory from you to process these requests if you have not yet sent this in. We also ask, that as your needs/supplies/run volumes change to let us know.
Wood County Board of Elections:
Please visit the BOE website for instructions on how to fill out an application for your absentee ballot. They ask that you visit the website rather than call. https://www.co.wood.oh.us/BOE/
Local
Wood County Humane Society: If you are a Wood County resident and have temporarily fallen upon hard times and need a way to still provide food for your pets or community cats, give us a call at 419-352-7339. Currently food assistance is being offered by appointment only.
Food Pantry Drive Through on Thursday, April 16, from 6 to 7 p.m. at First United Methodist Church in BG. Open to Wood County residents.
Ohio Rep. Haraz N. Ghanbari, R-Perrysburg, announced that $1.6 billion in rebate checks are scheduled to be issued to employers in response to the coronavirus pandemic following approval from the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation Board. “Through strong investment returns and reduced worker compensation cases, the board approved this dividend for employers,” Ghanbari said. “The intent is for these dividend checks to provide assistance during a critical time for many of our employers and others that are eligible.” The funding will be sent to employers across Ohio from the State Insurance Fund that will reflect 100 percent of the premiums paid in 2018. About $1.4 billion of the dividend will go to private employers, and about $200 million will go to local government entities, including counties, cities, townships and schools.
Administrative Information:
Any information and contributions your agency has for this report is valuable to maintain a common operating picture and situational awareness for the county as a whole.
Please reach out to our office via phone or email (email preferred) to share information.
EOC Hours of Operation: 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Requesting support: Call Wood County EMA at 419-354-9269 or email
woodcountyema@co.wood.oh.us
ODH Call line: 1-833-4-ASK-ODH (1-833-427-5634)
www.coronavirus.ohio.gov
