Community Corner
Mayor Broome Declares Parish-Wide Emergency Due To Coronavirus
As of March 14, there were still no confirmed cases of Coronavirus in East Baton Rouge Parish.
Posted on March 14, 2020
Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome has signed a parish-wide Emergency Disaster Declaration related to the city-parish’s efforts to protect against COVID-19. As of this evening, there are still no confirmed cases of Coronavirus in East Baton Rouge Parish.
Find out what's happening in Baton Rougefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
By declaring a local public health emergency, Broome aligns the parish with both the presidential and gubernatorial disaster declarations.
With this declaration, East Baton Rouge Parish can request additional assistance, if necessary, from state or federal partners.
Find out what's happening in Baton Rougefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Additionally, it triggers FEMA’s ability to assist in paying for actions taken by the local government before, during and after a disaster in order to protect the community.
This is known as FEMA Category B, Emergency Protective Measures. Under a disaster declaration, these measures are funded at a 75 percent cost share by FEMA. Category B covers costs like overtime, protective equipment, emergency mass care, or other items needed by the local government to protect its citizens.
Tomorrow, MOHSEP will enter into a partial activation and will be staffed from 7 a.m. - 7 p.m., in order to continue management of hazard mitigation and response.
This press release was produced by the City of Baton Rouge. The views expressed here are the author’s own.