BCC, Pinellas County, Extends State Of Local Emergency To Aug. 21

PINELLAS COUNTY, FL — The Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday extended its State of Local Emergency declaration for COVID-19 through Aug. 21 after receiving another encouraging update on the virus trending data in Pinellas County.

Dr. Ulyee Choe, director of the Florida Department of Health in Pinellas County, reported that the 7-day rolling average positive COVID-19 tests has dropped to 4.9 percent and hospitalizations have stabilized, which he credited in part to having two Super Skilled Nursing Facilities to house COVID-19 patients from long term care facilities.

Dr. Angus Jameson, medical director for Pinellas County Emergency Medical Services, urged residents to continue their mask wearing and social distancing. “Now is not the time to take our foot off the gas,” he said. “We are still significantly higher than we would like to be, and we need to take this opportunity to really drive the disease down as much as we can, particularly as we look forward to other events in the community, such as having schools coming back together.”

The extension of the declaration keeps in force a countywide ordinance requiring face coverings and social distancing practiced in indoor public places. Since the ordinance went into effect, there have been steady declines in the rolling 7-day averages for case counts and positive tests. Information about COVID-19 testing (including a new site at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater), the Pinellas CARES programs and CDC guidance, as well as a Data Dashboard and links to state and county orders, can be found at covid19.pinellas.org.

Hurricane preparations update
Emergency Management Director Cathie Perkins updated the Board on the County’s hurricane readiness during a pandemic. She touched on key points of the County’s plan to evacuate at-risk residents and provide socially distanced sheltering for those who need it. Among those:

• Rather than relying strictly on the existing evacuation map, which assumes that all hurricanes carry the same storm surge risk per category, evacuations will be based on directional storms surge analysis based on the National Hurricane Center surge model data. The result could be fewer evacuations of both individuals and congregate facilities.
• More shelters will be opened per storm category to facilitate social distancing.
o Spaces will be allocated by the size of the family unit coming in and space between parties increased.
o Temperature checks and interviews will be conducted upon shelter entry, and anyone exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms or who is positive for the virus will be encouraged to shelter at home if that can be done safely or referred to a non-congregate facility.
o Cleaning schedules will be increased, and hand sanitizing stations will be located throughout the shelters.
• In conjunction with state efforts to identify hotels that could be converted to shelters, Emergency Management has reached out to the Convention and Visitors Bureau and local chambers to identify area hotels that would be willing to support the endeavor.

In other action Tuesday, the Board:

• Authorized supplemental COVID-19 funding through federal grants to enhance the Health Care for the Homeless (HCH) program. Funding will go to staffing, clinical supplies, COVID-19 testing, mental health services through Directions for Living, and substance use services through Operation PAR.
• Approved a grant agreement with the state to accept federal funding to replace 16 span-wire traffic signals located along hurricane evacuation routes. The new signals will have galvanized steel mast arms made to withstand winds up to 150 mph. Pinellas County is contributing $2 million in Pinellas for Pinellas funding toward the $6 million cost.

This press release was produced by the Pinellas County Government. The views expressed here are the author’s own.