Public Safety
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The Osceola County Board of Commissioners approved the purchase of new portable and dual band radios at a cost of $330,552 during its meeting Dec. 16, by a vote of 5-1. -
City Council is considering two options that would charge for paramedic care provided by the Monterey Fire Department when ambulance transport is needed. Some are concerned it would discourage people from calling 911.
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Gov. Bob Ferguson said he would request an expedited emergency declaration from the federal government, seeking to unlock federal resources and financial support, as flooding continues in Western Washington this week.
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Since wildfire smoke steadily impairs a firefighter’s immune system, and traditional base camps can magnify infection risk, officials urge a blitzkrieg approach to wildfires that relies heavily on aircraft use.
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While Latinos make up just less than a third of the county’s population, they represent half of positive coronavirus tests at Northeast Georgia Health Systems and 44% of coronavirus positive admitted patients.
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“I didn’t think I would be on the front lines of COVID-19 at all. I thought it would work its way around us and hit … major metropolitan or urban areas, but not here in Somerset County with a population of 77,000 people.”
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Modern 911 dispatch centers are relying on new technologies to bridge the information gaps typical of landline telephone calls. Now, dispatchers and first responders are pulling data with new tools to improve public safety.
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More disturbing, say health-care advocates, is the growing number of accounts from families who say long-term care facilities across the state are administering the experimental treatment without legally required consent.
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For Floridians, flood insurance is worth considering. The average flood insurance premium in the state is less than $500 a year, but the cost of flood damage can be dangerously high without it.
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Aligning EOC activation, shelter-in-place policies and other emergency management functions with requirements forced by the coronavirus spread has made Galveston emergency management rework its response protocol.
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As the coronavirus tears through the state’s long-term care system, 4,015 nursing home and assisted living residents have been infected and more than 630 have died. But front-line caregivers are also getting battered.
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Miami’s City Council made the decision during their May 5 meeting. City Attorney Ben Loring said the House of Representatives extended the governor's emergency powers for 30 days and the Senate will likely do the same.
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The Strategic National Stockpile was born out of bioterrorism fears and initially included supplies to respond to such an event but evolved to include supplies for other disasters like floods, tornadoes and pandemics.
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States have adopted their own standards with mixed results, according to interviews with long-term care officials, patients' families, health-care advocates and government officials, and from a look at state’s records.
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The governor’s involvement in connecting his cousin with state buyers is just one example of how the coronavirus pandemic has upended the normal workings of government. Facing a dire shortage of life-saving medical supplies, Washington state has loosened contracting rules.
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In recent weeks, the facilities have emerged as a hotspot for COVID-19 deaths, with one Pinellas home having to be evacuated. As of Wednesday, 577 long-term care residents and staffers had died from the virus, roughly one third of Florida’s total deaths.
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Alabama’s COVID-19 Unified Command is a collection of resources including the Alabama National Guard and the Alabama Emergency Management Agency to support the Alabama Department of Public Health in fighting the virus.
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The job of contact tracer includes helping coronavirus patients figure out specific strategies to keep from infecting others and keeping tabs on household members and other close contacts to see if they get sick.
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The Food and Drug Administration said this month that "the question of when we can return to work and resume our normal activities is one of the most critical issues facing our nation."
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After the CDC warned the state’s top public safety official about the manufacturer’s concern that its products were “being counterfeited,” he issued a report to first responders asserting the masks are “authentic.”
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In a written statement, Allina Health officials said all health-care systems are managing limited supplies against the pandemic. Its practices are aligned with other local hospitals preparing for a patient surge.
