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Home My WebLink About2020-03-24; Coronavirus Response Update 12; Harrison, David Fire Department Safety Center 2560 Orion Way  Carlsbad, CA 92010  760-931-2141 Memo ID# 2020038 Council Memorandum March 24, 2020 To: Honorable Mayor Hall and members of the City Council From: David Harrison, Assistant Director of Emergency Services Via: Scott Chadwick, City Manager Re: Coronavirus Response Update 12 The purpose of this memorandum is to provide the City Council with an update on city response actions related to COVID-19. Please note this memo focuses on actions and information that are new since the last update. Emergency Operations Center • Emergency Operations Center activated to support COVID-19 mitigation and response operations and information sharing. • EOC monitoring 325 essential city functions o 25% of these currently associated with telecommuting. Evaluating whether an additional 25% of these functions can be performed via telecommuting. Regional status of outbreak California (no new numbers since those from Sunday, March 22, at 2 p.m.) • 1,733 confirmed cases of COVID-19 • 27 deaths San Diego County (as of Monday, March 23, 2020, around 4 p.m.) • 230 confirmed cases (25 more than the day before) o 213 San Diego County residents, 17 from elsewhere o 0 in federal quarantine, which has now concluded o 37 people hospitalized, 18 in intensive care • 1 death (as previously reported) • There is community transmission throughout San Diego County. Carlsbad (as of Monday, March 23, at 10 a.m.) • 14 confirmed cases • Note: The number of positive COVID-19 cases in Carlsbad has a lot to do with who is being tested, according to county health officials. There are a disproportionate number of travelers who are testing positive and those tend to be people of means, so more high-income people are being found to have the virus. CORONAVIRUS ACTIONS March 24, 2020 Page 2 Parks & Recreation • Closed the north beach, the Agua Hedionda Lagoon inner basin and all city parks, preserves and trails. o Confirmed watersports business on the lagoon shore is closed o Began posting COVID-19 “Temporary Closure – Due to Public Health Order” signs at heavily trafficked entries. • Sent a formal request from the City Manager to California State Parks to immediately close all state-owned beaches and parking lots within Carlsbad, based on the state’s stay-at-home public health order. o Informed State Parks staff of closure or restriction of access to state-owned areas under city control • Facilitated plans to allow employees to work from home while continuing essential city services and maintain readiness. • Senior meal program participation and reservations have continued to increase. Before the COVID-19 emergency, the average total participants was 140, with most of them dining at the Senior Center. o 153 total participants for Mar. 23 (63 for pick-up and 90 for delivery) o 180 total reservations for Mar. 24 (85 for pick-up and 95 for delivery) City Clerk’s Office • Finalized plans and preparations for city’s first virtual council meeting. Police Department • Set up department’s command post in the back parking lot at the Safety Center to be used as a secondary dispatch facility or office if needed. • Conducting high-visibility patrols along the beaches to advise people of the closure, provide education about the public health restrictions and urge people to comply. • Working to add more signs along the beach with notice of the recent closures. Fire Department • Lifeguards will maintain staffing on the north beach daily during the closure to encourage compliance and provide public safety services as needed. • Using scheduling software to evaluate scenarios for the potential decrease of available firefighters in case a significant amount of staff need to be quarantined. • Acquired 12,000 surgical masks from a Carlsbad Unified School District donation. • Received a partial shipment of personal protective equipment, including 500 of the recommended N95 masks and safety goggles, from San Diego County. Human Resources • Distributed telecommuting agreement to all city employees, every employee is required to acknowledge receiving and reviewing it. CORONAVIRUS ACTIONS March 24, 2020 Page 3 • Coordinating schedule changes in two departments through discussions with the Carlsbad City Employees’ Association. • Information about employees who may have been exposed to COVID-19 o Six employees have been cleared to return to work o Three employees self-quarantined after visiting a foreign country o Four employees self-quarantined after indirect contact with someone who tested positive o One employee who went on a cruise ship showed no symptoms but has self- quarantined as a precaution Library & Cultural Arts • Book return drops will be closed at 5 p.m. today (March 24). Patrons are being asked to hold onto materials they have, with no fines accruing from March 15 until the re- opening of facilities. • Declining to accept any additional public rental facility bookings through December until further notice. • Created a Library@Home webpage so community members can easily access online library services: (carlsbadca.gov/services/depts/library/services/library@home.asp.) • Cultural Arts staff delivered 100 more student art kits to be distributed at Jefferson Elementary School during lunch pick up. • Working on a mechanism to route phone calls to staff who are telecommuting and consolidate telephone services in one location. Economic Development • Carlsbad Village Association reports its cancelled the Farmers’ Market that had been scheduled for tomorrow. City Hall • Developed plan for reducing staffing levels at city hall, while maintaining capability to perform essential functions. Communication & Engagement • Created and shared the following information with the public on all city communication channels: o Temporary closing of city parks, trails and beaches o Trash and recycling services schedule o Statewide need for health care volunteers o Blood donations needed o CDC Graph showing typical pandemic progression, to emphasize San Diego is still in the very early stages o Factors that make someone at a greater risk o 2-1-1 San Diego resources CORONAVIRUS ACTIONS March 24, 2020 Page 4 o Mental health resources o Coaster commuter rail service reduction o Arrival of masks from the California Office of Emergency Services • Created and shared the following video: o Stay at Home: Flatten the Curve o Stay home if you are sick • Live-tweeted: o County of San Diego’s news conference on COVID-19 update o Governor’s news conference on COVID-19 update • Participated in NBC7 interview at Emergency Operations Center to explain park closures and ask for community’s support • Distributed employee update 15: o New statewide order o Guidance for employees supporting essential and non-essential functions o How to telecommute o Importance of social distancing o How to request time off • Produced and distributed daily City Manager’s Update to staff and public. • Created graphics for employee self-screening instructions. • Responded to 93 questions and comments on the city’s social media platforms and communications email account • Prepared and produced an additional 200 signs for closing city parks, trails and beaches. • Updated social media ad (Facebook and Instagram) promoting the city’s COVID-19 webpage CORONAVIRUS ACTIONS March 24, 2020 Page 5 CORONAVIRUS ACTIONS March 24, 2020 Page 6 cc: Celia Brewer, City Attorney Geoff Patnoe, Assistant City Manager Gary Barberio, Deputy City Manager, Community Services Paz Gomez, Deputy City Manager, Public Works Laura Rocha, Deputy City Manager, Administrative Services Michael Calderwood, Fire Chief Neil Gallucci, Police Chief Maria Callander, Information Technology Director David Graham, Chief Innovation Officer Judy von Kalinowski, Human Resources Director Kristina Ray, Communication & Engagement Director