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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem No. 08 - Continued Existence of a Local Emergency COVID-19City Council Agenda Report City of Lake Elsinore 130 South Main Street Lake Elsinore, CA 92530 www.lake-elsinore.org File Number: ID# 22-060 Agenda Date: 2/8/2022 Status: Approval FinalVersion: 1 File Type: Council Consent Calendar In Control: City Council / Successor Agency Agenda Number: 8) Continued Existence of a Local Emergency (COVID-19) 1.Find the need to continue the local emergency related to COVID -19 consistent with the findings and proclamations set forth in Resolutions No. 2020-18 and No. 2020-52; and 2.Direct staff to pursue available County, State, or Federal government disaster assistance based on the continued declaration of a local emergency; and 3.Continue activation and implementation of the emergency operations plan's response and recovery which authorizes the City to furnish or receive aid and assistance under existing mutual aid agreements. Page 1 City of Lake Elsinore Printed on 2/3/2022 REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council From: Jason Simpson, City Manager Date: February 8, 2022 Subject: Continued Existence of a Local Emergency (COVID-19) Recommendation 1. Find the need to continue the local emergency related to COVID-19 consistent with the findings and proclamations set forth in Resolutions No. 2020-18 and No. 2020-52; and 2. Direct staff to pursue available County, State, or Federal government disaster assistance based on the continued declaration of a local emergency; and 3. Continue activation and implementation of the emergency operations plan's response and recovery which authorizes the City to furnish or receive aid and assistance under existing mutual aid agreements. Background The Governor of California proclaimed a State of Emergency on March 4 , 2020, due to the introduction of COVID-19 in the State of California. On March 8, 2020, the Riverside County Public Health Officer declared a local health emergency based on an imminen t and proximate threat to public health from the introduction of COVID -19 in Riverside County, which declaration was ratified by the Riverside County Board of Supervisors on March 10, 2020. On March 17, 2020, the City Manager , in his capacity as Disaster Director, proclaimed a local emergency throughout the City of Lake Elsinore , finding that conditions of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property existed in the City related to the COVID -19 outbreak and that efforts required to prepare for, resp ond to, mitigate and recover from the increasing spread of COVID-19 imposed extraordinary demands which exceed the City's resources and are beyond the control of the services, personnel, equipment and facilities of the City. On March 24, 2020, the City C ouncil adopted Resolution No. 2020 -18 Ratifying The Proclamation Of Local Emergency And Proclaiming The Existence Of A Local Emergency (COVID-19), and on June 9, 2020, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 2020 -52 finding and proclaiming the continued existence of a local emergency (COVID -19). Following the adoption by the City Council of the Proclamation of Local Emergency, State law and the Lake Elsinore Municipal Code require the City Council to periodically review the necessity for continuing the local emergency until the emergency is terminated. The City Council last found the continued local emergency existed at its October 12, 2021 meeting. Continued Local Emergency February 8, 2022 Page 2 Discussion The City of Lake Elsinore is subject to State and County public health orders that restrict and/or impose guidelines to conduct certain activities. These restrictions apply regardless of the City’s proclamation of a local emergency. However, the declaration of a local emergency provides a legal basis for requesting and obtaining County, State, or Federal government disaster assistance. The declaration also activates the emergency operations plan's response and recovery aspects and authorizes the City to furnish or receive aid and assistance under existing mutual aid agreements. As of June 15, 2021, Governor Newsom terminated the executive orders that put into place the Stay Home Order and the Blueprint for a Safer Economy. He also phased out many of executive actions put in place since March 2020 as part of the pandemic response, leaving a subset of provisions that facilitate the ongoing recovery. Among these provisions are the Executive Orders relating to the conduct of local governmental meetings via teleconference and virtual technology. Assembly Bill No. 361 outlines the provisions for the conduct of virtual city council meetings on a going forward basis. Lake Elsinore City Council meetings will continue to be conducted in-person and allow public participation both in-person and remotely via Zoom. The City will continue to monitor these issues and advise the City Council and the community as we work through the unwinding process while maintaining resources necessary to respond to changing circumstances as necessary or appropriate. The incidence of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, deaths and positivity rate remain high and the Omicron variant has resulted in a significant surge in COVID-19 metrics, especially as to new cases. Over the week prior to February 3, 2022, Riverside County averaged 2,237 new cases (up approximately 411% from the 7-day average of 544.7 in December). As of February 3, 2022, the County Public Health Department reported that the County’s case rate is 174.6/100,000 population which is up dramatically from 14.04/100,000 population reported as of December 8, 2021 and 1.9/100,000 population in the Spring 2021. The positivity rate is 29.0% which is up from 6.3% on December 8 and 1.5% in the Spring. As of February 3, there are 855 hospitalizations in Riverside County which is up from 271 as of December 6 and significantly higher than the 42 patients hospitalized in the Spring. Those patients in the ICU also remains higher at 154 compared to 64 as of December 6 and 47 in the Spring. As of February 3, Riverside County reported 457,764 total confirmed cases (an increase of 76,890 since December 8) and 5,918 deaths (an increase of 426 since December 6) from Covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. There have been 12,320 (an increase of 2,224 since December 6) confirmed cases in the City of Lake Elsinore and 111 (an increase of 11 since December 6) deaths. As illustrated by the statistical information reported, the public health impacts of COVID-19 have been significant and remain a public health concern. Riverside County Public Health urges everyone to take action steps to reduce transmission by getting vaccinated or boosted, wearing masks, keeping appropriate distance/avoiding crowds, testing, and quarantining.