Wakulla EOC March 18th COVID-19 Briefing & Information

WAKULLA EOC March 18th COVID-19 BRIEFING & INFORMATION

Situation Summary:
On February 11, 2020 the World Health Organization announced an official name for the disease that is causing the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak, COVID-19. On March 11, 2020 COVID-19 was declared a pandemic outbreak.

Wakulla County Division of Emergency Management and the Florida Department of Health in Wakulla County are closely monitoring the situation and coordinating appropriately with all county agencies and key partners. The Florida Department of Health is the lead agency for this public health emergency and Wakulla County Emergency Management serves in support or our local health experts.

The numbers below are updated frequently, for current numbers refer to the Florida Department of health website.

Confirmed Resident Cases: (Current) 289 (Change) +116
Confirmed Non Resident : (Current) 25 (Change) +6
Florida Fatalities: (Current) 7 (Change) +1

Current Proclamations & Declarations:

03/01/2020 Governor’s Declaration of Public Health Emergency (Executive Order 20-51).
03/09/2020 Governor’s Declaration of State of Emergency (Executive Order 20-52)
03/13/2020 President Trump issued federal disaster declaration pursuant to Section 501(b) of the Stafford Act.
03/14/2020 State EOC moved from Partial Activation to Full Activation with 24 hour a day staffing.

Government Services and Protective Actions:

The Wakulla County Communications/9-1-1 Division has been given a list of recommended questions for calls involving respiratory Illness and similar complaints so that first responders can prepare accordingly.

Wakulla School District is currently working on plans for student meals to begin next Monday, March 23rd. They will finalize those plans by Friday morning March 20th, then inform you all on the Wakulla School Board Student Safety Face Book page, through a robo call, email, and local media by Friday evening. At this time, we have modified our original plan significantly. However, the change to emphasize meal delivery to bus stops by school buses will better ensure more of our students will receive their meals. Our plan at this time is to deliver meals by bus to all regular bus stops. You will also be able to pick up meals at the student drop off location at Wakulla High School. This will happen between the hours of 9:30-11:00 am. We will have information by Friday on the approximate time of bus delivery.

The Wakulla Senior Citizen Center will be preparing lunches for all seniors enrolled in the lunch program. To obtain a lunch seniors must call Alissa at 850-888-1020 or Marquise at 850-888-1023 by 9am each day. The transportation system will continue its service for medical and other essential services.

Effective March 12, 2020 the Wakulla County Jail facility will not accept any Immigration detainees until further notice as a precautionary measure.

Department of Health in Wakulla will be using road signs to communicate preparedness measures to the public.

Governor DeSantis has directed the Department of Business and Professional Regulation Secretary Halsey
Beshears, in coordination with the Florida Department of Health, to issue social distancing guidance to
restaurants and bars.

Governor DeSantis directed all agencies to suspend for 30 days licensing and registration renewal requirements for existing processional licenses.

WAKULLA COUNTY BOCC PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT UPDATE:

In response to COVID-19 and with State and Federal guidance, the following proactive measures are being taken by the BOCC Offices:

In an effort to assist citizens via phone or email, staff requests the public call or email (if possible) before entering any BOCC office (All BOCC Offices remain open at this time);

All BOCC Meetings have been cancelled until further notice (this includes Regular Board Meetings, Planning Commission, Code Enforcement, and Advisory Committees);

All Library Programs have been cancelled through April (The Library remains open at this time);

All Recreation Programs at Medart Recreation Park have been cancelled until further notice (The Medart Recreation Office remains open at this time);

All County Parks remain open to the public at this time.

The Library will be closed to the public as of Thursday, March 19th until further notice; however, will be allowing curbside pickup. Please call the Library at 926-7415 or email at wcpl@wakullalibrary.org for procedures.

Effective March 18th 2020 @08:00am all Wakulla County Jail Volunteer programs will be cancelled until further notice.
1. Substance Abuse/ Drug Abuse.
2. AA/NA
3. Religious Services, (Volunteers Only)
4. Domestic Violence.

Effective 03/17/2020 all Florida Universities will continue conducting online/remote learning until the end of the spring semester.

Governor Ron DeSantis issued Executive Order 20-68 to reduce crowds in restaurants, bars, nightclubs and beaches.

All bars and nightclubs throughout Florida will close for the next 30 days. Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) will be enforcing and providing further guidance.

The Governor is directing parties accessing public beaches in the state of Florida to follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance by limiting their gatherings to no more than 10 persons.

Restaurants across the state of Florida will now be required to limit customer entry to 50 percent of capacity. Seating must be staggered and limited to ensure seated parties are separated by a distance of at least six feet, in accordance with CDC guidelines. Restaurants are encouraged to remain open and expand take-out and delivery services. Additional information will be provided by DBPR.

Governor Ron DeSantis activated the Florida Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan Program to support small businesses impacted by COVID-19. The bridge loan program will provide short-term, interest-free loans to small businesses that experienced economic injury from COVID-19. The application period opens March 17, 2020 and runs through May 8, 2020. More information can be found at https://floridadisasterloan.org/. The Governor has requested the federal Small Business Administration (SBA) make the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program available for Florida’s small businesses impacted by COVID-19. The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) stands ready to assist Florida’s small businesses in accessing this funding when available.

The Business Damage Assessment survey has been activated to assess the impact of COVID-19 on Florida’s local business operations. The survey, managed by DEO, will evaluate businesses affected by COVID-19 and the impacts the virus has had on the local economy so actions to implement appropriate relief programs can begin. The survey can be taken online at https://floridadisaster.biz/.

County Closures and Cancellations:

•The Wakulla Wonderful Celebration has been postponed
•Household Hazardous Waste Day scheduled for March 28, 2020 has been cancelled.
•All Grand Jury Proceedings, jury selection proceedings, and all criminal and civil trials for the period March 16th-March 27th have been suspended.
•Wakulla Students will not return from spring break until March 31st.
•Eden Springs Nursing home has restricted all visitations to their facility to those critical to operations as of March 11, 2020.
•Wakulla county Recreation Department activities, leagues and programs have been suspended until March 30th.
•Wakulla 4-H suspended In-Person Programs through April 30, 2020.
•UF/IFAS Extension Wakulla County Office is postponing all group related activities. This includes Master Gardener classes, annual plant sale, 4-H club meetings, cooking classes and other events through April 30,2020
•The Wakulla Senior Center will be closed to all congregate meals and activities until further notice.
•20th Annual Sopchoppy Worm Gruntin Festival has been postponed until 2021.
•Wakulla Chamber of Commerce 10th annual Low Country Boil scheduled for April 4th has been postponed.
•Wakulla Chamber of Commerce has cancelled the Networking lunch scheduled for March and April.
•Wakulla Chamber will be rescheduling ribbon cuttings and Business after Hours events.

Known Local Business Actions:

Talquin Electric - In order to help reduce potential exposure to the virus by employees and members, Talquin has elected to close its Member Service office lobbies effective Monday, March 16th. Talquin’s Member Service offices will remain open for the drive-thru service only.

Duke Energy - has taken the following steps to protect its customers and employees:
1. Duke Energy will not disconnect any customer’s service for non-payment, in order to give customers experiencing financial hardship extra time to make payments. The company will continue to read meters and send bills. Customers should pay what they can to avoid building up a large balance that will be harder to pay off later.
2. Through a carefully planned process, Duke Energy has directed employees who are not involved with power generation, power delivery, customer service or other critical functions to work from home, where possible.

Zaxby’s - Effective Tuesday, 03/17/2020, service will be limited to the drive-thru only. They encourage every guest to practice social distancing and minimize in person contact by using online ordering, the Zaxby’s mobile app, and contactless payment methods.

Taco Bell- will be changing their hours to opening at 10:00 and will be Drive-Thru only starting tomorrow 03/18/2020.

McDonald’s – will be shifting focus to service through Drive-Thru, and Walk-in-take-out. Effective today

Hardees – Drive-Thru only.

Hamaknockers BBQ – To-Go orders only

Centennial Bank – Drive-Thru only service

Wakulla Springs - Closing The Lodge/Restaurant from March 20 until May 15, per the request of Florida State Parks. At this time, the State Park itself is remaining open to the public with limited hours from 8 am to 5 pm.

Health and Safety Briefing:

We continue to ask that you also take the following precautions to protect yourself, your employees, and your community:

•Avoid mass gatherings.
•Stay home when you are sick, except to get medical care.
•Cover your coughs and sneezes with a tissue, and then throw the tissue in the trash.
•Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
•Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
•Clean frequently touched surfaces and objects daily.
•Follow your agency’s Standard Operating Guidelines (SOG) and Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for PPE use, Infection Control, Infectious Exposure, and Respiratory Protection.

Resources
•The COVID-19 Call Center is available 24/7: +1 (866) 779-6121 or email COVID-19@flhealth.gov
•Florida’s Price Gouging Hotline for all consumers in the state: 866-9NO-SCAM
•FL COVID-19 Updates: http://www.floridahealth.gov/diseases-and-conditi…/COVID-19/
•FDOH Educational Material: http://www.floridahealth.gov/…/COVID-19/covid19-toolkit.html
•CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
•CDC Mitigation strategy: https://www.cdc.gov/…/dow…/community-mitigation-strategy.pdf