County Supervisors Declare Emergency Due To Coronavirus

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, CA — The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors unanimously declared Tuesday a local emergency as the county braces for potential impact from the new coronavirus. Last week county Health Officer Gail Newel issued a Local Health Emergency, citing a need to prepare for a potential spread, should the outbreak worsen.

Two Santa Cruz County residents have tested positive for coronavirus, and both patients are recovering in isolation, the county has said. The first patient was aboard the Princess Grand Princess cruise ship and the second is thought to have contracted the virus on a trip to Seattle.

The county said it expects more cases to be confirmed as testing becomes more widely available in the coming days.

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Declaring an emergency helps the county begin organizing and tracking resources ahead of a potential local outbreak, said county Health Services Director Mimi Hall last week. It's also a first step to receiving mutual aid from surrounding governments and getting money to reimburse costs associated with the response, should federal or state funding become available.

No University of California, Santa Cruz students have tested positive for the virus, but the university cancelled in-person classes beginning Wednesday, as a precaution.

Seminars will be offered via video streaming platforms such as Zoom, though classes that require in-person meetings such as labs will continue to meet as necessary, UC Santa Cruz said. Winter quarter finals will not be conducted in-person and teachers will be contacting students to set up alternate arrangements.

The disease, which apparently originated in animals, is now transferring from person to person, although the mechanism is not yet fully understood. Its symptoms include fever, coughing and shortness of breath, and many patients develop pneumonia. There is as yet no vaccine against COVID-19 it and no antiviral treatment.

According to the CDC, the best way of preventing the disease is to avoid close contact with people who are sick, to avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands, to wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, and to use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol if soap and water are not available.

Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that include the common cold as well as much more serious diseases. The strain that emerged in China in late 2019, now called COVID-19, is related to others that have caused serious outbreaks in recent years, including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS).

Board of Supervisors Chair Greg Caput said asked residents to take precautions and said it is working with the California Department of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

On Monday the county updated its guidelines with new information about workplaces and large gatherings. Those guidelines can be found here.

Anyone with concerns about their health should contact their doctor or call 211 to find a local clinic. The county encourages the public to visit santacruzhealth.org/coronavirus for local updates and links to important CDC updates.