County declares ‘Local Emergency’ as State ramps up pandemic response

Keeping their distance – the County had every other row in the WCGC meeting room cordoned off from seating, and people were generating their own distance in those rows. Royal Examiner Photos/Roger Bianchini

On the heels of its Tuesday afternoon informational and procedural press release on dealing with the health threat posed by the COVID-19 Coronavirus outbreak, the Warren County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted Tuesday evening, March 17, to declare a “Local Emergency”.

Happy St. Paddy’s Day to you too.

However, rather than reflect an actual state of emergency since there have yet to be any reported cases here, the declaration appears to be preparatory in nature, setting procedures in place should the now-declared worldwide pandemic reach Front Royal and Warren County.

Instructions on limiting interpersonal public contacts, staying home if ill, and procedures to seek medical testing if feeling cold, flu or respiratory symptoms associated with the COVID-19 virus have been an important part of the local, state and national response. COVID-19 is the acronym for “Corona Virus Disease-2019” – 2019 being the year the strain was first identified in the Wuhan Province of China this past December.

The nasty little bugger – CDC website representation of a COVID-19 Coronavirus. It’s name generated from its spiked ‘corona’.

At Tuesday’s county board meeting’s outset, County Administrator Doug Stanley introduced item M-1 on the Local Emergency Declaration to be added to the agenda. And during his administrative report, Stanley read from the County Press Release on guidance to citizens should they exhibit symptoms and ways to minimize the risk of becoming infected.

The agenda explanation sheet referenced Virginia Department of Health (VDH) statistics indicating that as of noon, Tuesday, there were 67 confirmed cases of the COVID-19 strain of Coronavirus in the Commonwealth of Virginia. By Wednesday around noon, that number had risen to 77. The VDH also reported as of Wednesday, that 1,278 people had been tested in the state in determining those 77 verified cases.

The lack of availability of testing kits to medical professionals has been an ongoing problem nationwide as localities, states and the country attempts to stem the spread of the disease here.

While not included in the county summary, on Monday, March 16 the second COVID-19 death in Virginia was reported by the state health department. Both deaths have been in the Peninsula Health District in the eastern, south-central part of the state. The Peninsula District with 15 reported cases, along with Fairfax and Arlington at 14 each, have been the most heavily hit COVID-19 areas in Virginia. Both of the state’s fatalities were men in their 70’s, reported to have died of respiratory failure. The Peninsula Health District reported that both men were infected by “unknown sources”.

A Wednesday screenshot of a Va. Health Department map of the contamination in the Old Dominion.

As for the Local Emergency declaration approved Tuesday, it was noted that in reaction to federal and state declarations by President Trump and Governor Northam county officials including Board Chairman Mabe, County Administrator Stanley, Fire & Emergency service Chief Mabie and Deputy Emergency Manager Rick Farrall met and decided, “that the County of Warren should be on the forefront of this epidemic (not sure about that wording, guys) in order to provide the best possible preparations and care for the citizens, as well as ensure the potential for cost savings once this epidemic has passed.”

County Deputy Emergency Manager Rick Farrall addresses the rationale behind the Local Emergency Declaration at this point in the COVID-19 outbreak situation. Behind him, you can see how the public has, with the County’s help portioned itself from each other for the most part.

Farrall briefed the board on the declaration he prepared. Mabe then read the Declaration of Local Emergency into the board record for a vote of approval. After the board responded to a question from a citizen present about the logistics of bypassing normal funding authorization procedures, Supervisor Fox’s motion, seconded by Cheryl Cullers, passed by a unanimous roll-call vote.

Also on Tuesday, releases went out from county court clerk’s offices acknowledging a state order suspending all non-essential court functions, civilly and criminally, into early to mid-April.

Not really, not yet at least – this file photo of an ambulance called to the Warren County Courthouse dates to last September, prior to the COVID-19 virus outbreak in China.

In response to the governor’s order limiting public gatherings of more than 10 people, a number of local restaurants have announced closings or suspensions of in-house eating, some continuing to operate pick-ups under precautionary steps and/or deliveries.

Local store shelves continue to be left empty by hoard buying, somewhat inexplicably of toilet paper and other paper products, as well as canned and frozen foods.

However, this is real and recent – empty shelves in the Royal Plaza Martin’s were taken on St. Patrick’s Day, Tuesday, March 17. It was a St. Patrick’s Day dampened by parade cancellations and pub closings around the country.

As Lord Fairfax Health District Director Colin Greene told the county supervisors on March 3, the Coronavirus “is a problem, it is not a catastrophe”. The above-described personal behavioral measures, precautions and cancellations of public gatherings of people are designed to keep the situation that way as the nation moves into a crucial period in determining whether the U.S. outbreak will be contained, or spread as it has throughout some European nations, China and other Asian nations.

Tuesday’s County Supervisors meeting breaks up under its ‘In God We Trust’ declaration – but just to be sure they added a human-fueled County Emergency Declaration to the COVID-19 response mix.

See the Emergency Declaration discussion, vote and other county business in this Royal Examiner video: