LA County Public Health Dept Declares A Local Emergency After Sixteen Coronavirus Cases Found

The County of Los Angeles declared a public health emergency Wednesday morning, after the discovery of 16 Novel coronavirus cases. The director of public health also urged people not to boycott "Asia Pacific restaurants," and said LA County was concerned after, "the discovery of racial profiling."

The County opened its Emergency Operations Center to "coordinate across different departments." All of the sixteen new cases were linked to one known exposure, i.e. one man who travelled to China.

"The public should also prepare for the possibility of more social distancing requirements. Businesses and schools may have to close. Use verbal salutations in place of handshakes and hugs. Try to keep 6 feet between you and people you know. Business owners, prepare to implement plans that allow employees to work from home without being financially penalized. Ensure that your continuity of operations plans are up to date, so that you can continue if large numbers of people are sick or unable to go to work."

"Be aware of scammers trying to sell cures. There are no cures or preventions for novel coronavirus." said LA County Board of Supervisors member Kathryn Barger.

City of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti also declared an emergency in the City of Los Angeles.

The County press release says, in part:

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (Board) and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) will make major announcements regarding the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in LA County. Officials will outline specific actions by the Board and Public Health, as well as offering guidance to the public about what they can do to protect themselves and employ preparation procedures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

We asked the City of Santa Monica for a comment on the Coronavirus situation in Santa Monica. Constance Farrell, City Public Information officer, emailed us the following:

"As you know, the coronavirus is evolving quickly and we here at the City are committed to ensuring the community has timely and accurate information from the LA County Department of Public Health (DPH) – the agency leading coronavirus response. The latest information can always be found at http://www.publichealth.lacounty.gov."

"We also have a webpage where we are posting regular updates as soon as they are known. That link is http://www.santamonica.gov/coronavirus. Please include the preventative guidance in all reporting. The stay home when sick and wash your hands are the #1 steps people can take to curtail the spread of any virus."

She also provided us with this quote from Santa Monica Mayor McKeown:

"Santa Monica is monitoring the situation very closely, and we're working hand in hand with the L.A. County Department of Public Health to communicate accurate information and be prepared to support community needs," said Mayor Kevin McKeown.

DPH has called a press conference tomorrow morning. Information below.

Please visit our webpage for regular updates.

Thank you,

Constance

The first confirmed case of the global outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the United States was announced on January 21, 2020. As of March 3, 2020, there were 124 confirmed and presumptive cases of coronavirus in the U.S., including nine deaths