HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/18/20 - Situation Report No. 32
Emergency Operations Center
Situation Report #32
Public Safety Department
Division of Emergency Management
Operational Period
EVENT/INCIDENT EOC Activation
April 18, 2020 0800
COVID-19 Level 2 (Partial Activation)
April 19, 2020 0800
Date: April 18, 2020 Time: 1700 HRS
TODAY’S SITUATION
To date, the State has received 14,938 Mission Requests which continue to strain their ability to prioritize and
fulfill these requests. The State has requested Counties consider implementing a standard supply for 10-days of
PPE equipment. If a County has more than a 10-day supply, the State is requesting them to push extra supplies
to Counties in critical need.
State EOC Updates:
o The State is working on expansion of COVID-19 Testing
o “Opening Up America Again” Plan – Awaiting the Florida Governor’s assessment current conditions in
Florida as it relates to considering regional or state-wide measures to implement guidelines for each
phase to reopen operations and businesses. Counties are seeking to collaborate concepts for mutual
discussion on selective and collective actions towards reopening/lifting restrictions.
o Mass Care – A Mass Care Working Group will begin next week to evaluate what sheltering may look like.
o Counties that have been approved Non-Congregated Sheltering are now opened to update the WebEOC
dashboard, as mandated.
o The State has responded to inquiries regarding roles and responsibilities for any needed response to
potential COVID-19 prison outbreaks, both for State or Federal prisons.
COMPREHENSIVE STAKEHOLDER STATUS UPDATES
Department of Health in St. Lucie (DOH) - DOH is operating in some limited capacity at all locations and
continues to serve the public with priority services as listed below. Each location has established a single point
of entry for each building with trained staff monitoring client and employee temperatures upon entering a
building.
As part of our ESF-8 Health and Medical function, several staff have transitioned to COVID-19 duties which
include;
assessing needs for hospitals, nursing homes, and ALF’s
assisting with epidemiology cases
submitting and prioritizing resource requests
providing COVID-19 related information to the public, clients and community partners
Currently we have no unmet needs at our facilities.
The Florida Department of Health issued COVID-19 guidance for Small Businesses, containing a fact sheet
based upon CDC guidelines.
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The Florida Department of Health also issued COVID-19 guidance for Correctional and Detention Facilities.
City of Port St. Lucie - The City is continuing Continuity of Operations (COOP) Planning for non-essential
employees to ensure only mission critical personnel are working onsite to reduce the risk of COVID-19
exposure.
Over 300 employees are working remotely, and additional planning is being conducted to increase
telework capabilities.
The City is continuing with the development and implementation of Pandemic Influenza plans as the
situation progresses.
The Logistics section has been working to fulfill the resource and PPE requests of the Police Department
and other critical employees, through locally sourced vendors and is prioritizing distribution based on
essential needs.
Discussions continue with local businesses and social services agencies to identify and meet the needs
of the community.
The City is continuing to coordinate with SLC Emergency Management should any support be needed for
non-congregate sheltering, alternate care facilities, and/or distribution sites.
The City is seeking opportunities to expand testing availability for citizens. The St. Lucie County Health
Department to provide further updates to City administration.
St. Lucie County Tax Collector - We are currently operating on split shifts (A/B) with A shift working M/T and B
shift working W/Th. Our offices are closed on Fridays until further notice. Any of our staff that can work from
home are doing so (finance, much of our tax team, some administration). Our front line staff are wearing masks.
We had some cloth masks donated, and we were able to order some online (they arrived today).
Challenges - Right now are people coming in who don’t necessarily NEED to be coming in – not all transactions
we are processing are essential – they could wait or the transaction could be done online. We also have quite a
few people each day coming in from other Counties or out of State seeking service. We are not servicing out of
county residents at this time.
Our budget appears to be ok at the moment. Because we have been able to remain open, and because we
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Emergency Operations Center
Situation Report #32
Public Safety Department
Division of Emergency Management
collect our tax revenues earlier in the year, we are sitting about more than 80% collection for the fiscal year
already.
We have no unmet needs.
St. Lucie County Property Appraiser - The Property Appraiser’s Office continues to serve the public during
normal business hours (Monday thru Friday from 8 am – 5 pm). A quarter of staff is working remotely, we are
still utilizing all office spaces to ensure adequate social distancing for those working in the office. We are to
provide estimate numbers to all Taxing Authorities by June 1 and I feel confident we will meet that goal.
I know this has already lasted longer than anyone likes but as we look into the future I am wondering what my
office looks like if social distancing is still in play in August. I know you can’t answer how long social distancing
will be encouraged but just wanted to let you know that we have two times a year where we generally see a
significant uptick with in person visits. That is the month of February and for the 25 days following our TRIM
mailing in mid-August. This is something we are working on now and would appreciate hearing any direction or
planning that the BOCC has set for that time frame.
St. Lucie County Clerk of the Circuit Court - Our Downtown Fort Pierce office is now open to the public
Tuesday-Thursday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. until further notice. Our St. Lucie West office is closed and will be a backup
for our services in case the downtown Fort Pierce office is deemed uninhabitable for a short period of time.
We are also operating on two-team schedule. Team A works one week in the office, then Team B works the
other week in the office. We are down to roughly 50-60 employees in the office on a given day. Everyone else is
working remotely.
Customers can only enter our first floor through the front of our building. Employees are asked to only enter
through the back entrance of the building. Customers should only be coming in for essential court services, such
as filing domestic violence injunctions, Baker Acts, and Marchman Acts. Arraignments and other essential court
services continue to take place. We are also continuing to issue marriage licenses by appointment. Documents
can also be dropped off in the lobby to be recorded into Official Records or filed into an existing case.
Most of our services are available online. A complete list of updates to our services are posted regularly to our
Emergency page: www.stlucieclerk.com/emergency.
We have submitted requests through WebEOC for masks and cleaning supplies, but haven’t received them. We
have been making do with the County’s regular cleaning, but we still need to have shared desks cleaned
whenever we switch over, for instance. We understand masks are very limited, but with the urgency to wear
them more and more in public, there is heightened demand now.
Nineteenth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida - Both the main courthouse in downtown Fort Pierce and annex
in St Lucie West are currently staffed and we have not closed an entire floor of any building. Both locations are
open to the public in a limited capacity. All in-person non-critical court proceedings are suspended through May
th
29. To the extent possible, the courts will conduct these proceedings electronically. Our essential services
include
First appearance hearings;
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Juvenile dependency shelter hearings;
Termination of Parental Rights (TPR) advisory hearings; Hearings on petitions for Judicial Waiver of
Notice;
Juvenile delinquency detention hearings;
Hearings on ex parte petitions for temporary injunctions relating to safety of an individual;
Instanter hearings on child support writ reviews; Hearings on ex parte petitions for risk protection orders;
Hearings on petitions for the appointment of an emergency temporary guardian;
Hearings on Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) Orders;
Involuntary commitment hearings under the Baker Act or Marchman Act;
Hearings on motions to set or modify monetary bond for defendants in custody;
Hearings on petitions for extraordinary writs as necessary to protect constitutional rights;
Criminal arraignments as necessary;
Issuance of warrants or authorization for wiretaps;
Other emergency or time-sensitive matters as determined by the presiding judge.
A change of plea hearing that results in release from county jail.
Additionally, the court will hear, as necessary, critical proceedings related to the state of emergency or
the public health emergency, including but not limited to:
Violation of quarantine or isolation;
Violation of orders to limit travel;
Violation of orders to close public or private buildings; and
Enforcement of curfew orders.
If circumstances require our services to be suspended, our services will continue to operate out both
Courthouses, the same as we are operating now. We have instituted a single point of entry for the public.
Judges and staff enter through a separate entrance designated for employees only.
Nineteenth Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office –
Staff are operating at all locations. An entire floor of the building has not been closed; however, offices are not
open to the public at all locations. The public is not being admitted beyond the front lobby of the main building at
nd
411 S. 2 St.
Some services are limited or suspended. If circumstances require services to be suspended, we are prepared to
have all attorneys work remotely to provide essential services. The ability to have support staff work remotely is
hampered by a shortage of laptop computers, so at a minimum we a physical presence in the building will need
to be maintained. At this time, a single-entry point to facilities has not been implemented, acknowledging
standard security protocols.
Nineteenth Judicial Circuit Public Defender’s Office - We are operating out of the Ft. Pierce office at 216 S.
Second Street and the Walton Road Office. We have temporarily closed our office on Atlantic Avenue. We
have also closed several offices within the Ft. Pierce main office building. These have been cleaned and noted
with signs on the appropriate doors.
We are not open to the public at either open location.
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Emergency Operations Center
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Services are limited due to the Supreme Court Executive Order outlining our essential services. Attorneys
appear remotely for court functions. A rotating skeleton crew is operating in all of our offices in the 4 counties.
Other personnel are working remotely from home where capable.
Employees can utilize all entry points in the Ft. Pierce building. Limited non-employees, such as delivery men
and select volunteers, are only able to use the front door.
The Walton Road office is on the second floor of the Conrad Building, which also houses the DMV and Tax
Collector’s Office. There is a security officer manning the front door. Visitors are screened for access and
allowed in singly. Our office on the second floor has a single point of entry.
Employees who must enter the State Attorney’s Office to retrieve media discovery material are required by the
State Attorney’s Office to wear masks, gloves and use sanitizer. Therefore, we are requesting a limited supply
of these items for Ft. Pierce personnel, from St. Lucie County, in order to perform our essential job duties.
Treasure Coast Food Bank - Treasure Coast Food Bank continues to serve each of its Counties (Indian River,
Martin, Okeechobee and St. Lucie) daily through its network of partner agencies and through mobile food
distributions. 90% of our partners remain open to the public and are distributing as usual.
Anyone in need of food assistance can visit our website at stophunger.org and click on the “Get Help” link
to find a partner agency near them. We also have an online application that can be completed by those in
need who are homebound, so that they can receive a food delivery directly to their door.
Treasure Coast Food Bank is working with directly with the City of Port St. Lucie to coordinate a drive-
st
thru mobile food distribution on Friday, May 1 at the St. Lucie County Civic Center. St. Lucie County PD
will be coordinating traffic flow and support for this event will come from a limited number of county
employees, TCFB staff and volunteer support from Christ Fellowship Church. Time TBD.
St. Lucie County Fairgrounds has agreed to stage food and water as overflow storage space due to
increased demand for food during COVID-19.
TCFB could still use support for refrigerated and frozen storage space, which could include on-site or off-
site trailers.
Florida Power & Light (FPL) - Florida Power & Light Company has had a pandemic plan in place for many
years, and regularly trains and drills for unplanned events and crises. The company understands the critical role
electricity plays in the economy and daily lives of Floridians. Regardless of the circumstances, FPL remains
steadfastly committed to continuously delivering the reliable and affordable electricity that everyone relies on. If
customers are experiencing hardship as a result of the coronavirus
(COVID-19) pandemic, FPL has resources available at FPL.com/Help, in addition to those available from
federal, state and local authorities. To further assist customers, FPL has also implemented the same policies
that it does during crises, which include:
Suspending electrical disconnections
Providing payment extensions
Waiving certain late payment fees for customers in a hardship situation
These policies will remain in effect while Florida is under a State of Emergency.
Fort Pierce Utilities - FPUA is currently staffing all of its facilities with minimal personnel.
The only public access we currently have open is through our drive through at our downtown facility.
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We are only working on maintenance and ongoing construction projects. We have scaled back our Gas
turn-ons to appointment only.
We are still providing Water, Gas, Electric, and Waste Water Services to our customers. We will
continue to do what is necessary to provide these services to our customers
We have implemented a single point of entry with daily temperature scans for all employees, vendors,
and delivery drivers.
St. Lucie County Community Services Department – Divisional updates as follows:
Veterans Services - Van transportation to VA hospital continues with reduced riders. Office operations continue
via telephone, email, fax and snail mail
Human Services - No updates to report.
Transit - The Transit Division would like to request masks from the EOC for the safety of the bus operators – if
available. In regards to a recovery plan, the Treasure Coast Connector has not modified nor suspended
services and continues to stand ready to provide trips, all of which are contingent upon the reopening of
businesses, etc. The after hour’s program, Direct Connect is funded. An updated, fillable form is available at
www.SLCRide.org.
From the County’s Contracted Provider: Although they are lower than they are under normal circumstances, our
ridership levels have remained constant over the past three weeks. As of today, there are no new operational
updates to report. The ridership levels continue to remain constant:
Demand Response: 123
Fixed Route: 1453
MicroTransit: 5
Operations: We continue to work with County staff in the development of the operational uses for the 5307
CARES Act funding. Keeping an adequate supply of masks is challenging, and we continue to check all
sources, some handmade masks have been supplied as well. Some vendors are keeping is informed on a
regular basis regarding certain sanitizing supplies.
Housing - With guidance from the Florida Housing Coalition and Florida Housing Finance Corporation the
Housing Division is in the process of rolling out the COVID-19 Rental Eviction and Mortgage Delinquency
Prevention Program. The program will be funded using State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) program
funding. Approximately $251,000 in funding is available. This funding will assist approximately 83 households.
Please note we are still fine-tuning the specifics, however below are some program specifics that will be
implemented.
Homeowner/renter in unincorporated SLC (PSL/FP are implementing programs for their jurisdictions) with
household incomes at or below 80% of the Area Median Income as determined by the 2019 SHIP
Income Limits.
Eligible for onetime payments of 2 months of mortgage or rent payments due April 1st or onward with a
maximum payment of $3,000.
Paid directly to the landlord or mortgage company
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If unemployed, applicants must have applied for unemployment.
Must have documentation from employer that the loss/reduction of employment income was COVID
related.
Applications will be processed on a first-come, first eligible basis from all applicant(s) meeting program
eligibility criteria, subject to funding availability. First priority will be given to “special needs” applicants as
defined by F.S. 420.0004 (13).
The Housing Division has been participating in a weekly conference call with Fort Pierce and PSL to coordinate
and share ideas for program construction and implementation. Erick Gill is assisting with outreach on SLCTV
and social media. Webpages are being built for this program. We anticipate putting out the word that funding is
available between 4/20 and 4/23. Applications will likely begin being accepted on 4/27.
A search of the multiple listing service identified ~200 rental housing units under $2,000/month. This
number went down to 39 units when using search parameters for the Fair Market Rent limits based on
unit size and income.
FDEM was emailed requesting guidance on the Housing Recovery Support Function for this specific
event.
DEO was contacted regarding funding for non-entitlement communities. Money is being allocated from
HUD to DEO for small cities communities, but it is still unclear how much and what the requirements of
this funding will be. DEO’s lobbying firm is pressuring HUD for waivers for some of the most time
consuming federal regs.
HUD CPD Representative has been contacted about HOME funds. No early release of HOME funds or
specific guidance regarding HOME. HOME cannot be used for emergency response.
Council on Aging of St. Lucie, Inc./Community Transit Stakeholder - The COVID-19 crisis has had a
dramatic impact on the ridership levels for COASL's fixed route system, Treasure Coast Connector, and our
paratransit system, Community Transit. As the contracted provider to provide transit service in St. Lucie County,
we have worked diligently with County staff to ensure that the transit system operates in a safe manner during
this time. The decrease in ridership has been more than 60 percent, but has stabilized during the past two
weeks.
Operations: To date, there have been no reductions in services provided. In order to minimize exposures and to
comply with the Governor's Executive Orders, any personnel who can work remotely from home are doing so.
Our bus drivers continue to show their commitment to the community. We have only a small percentage of
drivers who have had to take a leave of absence because of this crisis.
We have implemented social distancing on the buses, requiring the first seats near the driver to remain empty,
and then passengers are required to sit in alternate seats so no one is directly seated next to another
passenger. The buses are being sanitized at the end of each run, and at the end of each day. Extensive
cleanings are being completed each weekend to further enhance the sanitization efforts.
The drivers have been supplied with face masks. Starting this week, notices are being placed on the buses and
on our social media sites to "STRONGLY ENCOURAGE" all passengers to wear face masks.
We are committed to providing the transit services in the safest manner possible for our drivers and the
passengers.
Needs: Our need continues to be securing a continuing supply of face masks for our drivers. We have secured
a supply from Perkins Medical on two occasions, but they will no longer sell in a bulk quantity. To date, our
glove orders continue to be sufficient, but the back order timing does appear to be increasing
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St. Lucie County Tourism & Marketing - The COVID-19 pandemic has caused the travel and hospitality
(restaurants, retail, etc.) industry to be one of the first and hardest hit sectors of our economy. This impact is
happening on a state, national and global scale. The purpose of this memo is to provide you with an update on
the Tourism Division’s current activities and steps that are being taken to address these impacts.
Our office is hyper-focused on the local travel and hospitality industry. That being said, we have categorized our
current activities in two buckets:
1. Response -- what we are doing now
2. Recovery -- what we are doing to plan for recovery
RESPONSE
Staying up to date on orders coming from the Federal, State and local level and communicating these
updates to our local industry (i.e. beaches closing, private vacation rental restrictions, etc.) if they impact
local businesses.
Closely monitoring and tracking hotel & private vacation rental activity and revenue to gather as much
data as we can to forecast revenue losses and any budget adjustments that may need to be made during
this fiscal year and perhaps next year. At this time, we have paused and/or postponed all paid advertising
knowing that we will see a sharp decline in March, April and likely May TDT revenues.
Staff is collectively or individually participating in several weekly webinars and conference calls with
industry partners and experts to gain updates and insight on the current and future travel industry.
We've partnered with the SLC Economic Development Council, the SLC Chamber of Commerce,
CareerSource and the Small Business Development Office at IRSC to assist in the creation of and help
operate the “Virtual Business Recovery Center.” The tourism staff will assist in fielding calls from local
businesses and directing them to the business recovery and resources needed. We are following the
EDC’s direction on this initiative.
The tourism office staff has developed a database of nearly 500 small businesses that fall within the
travel and hospitality industry and we have personally reached out to business owners to let them know
we are here to help and there are resources available such as:
o Florida Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan Program (www.floridadisasterloan.org) -- state
program
o Small Business Administration Economic Injury Disaster Loan (www.sba.gov) -- federal program
o Families First Act (www.dol.gov) -- federal program
o CARES Act – federal program
o With the help of the EDC and CareerSource, we are maintaining a list of local businesses that are
hiring and sharing it with business owners who have had to lay off staff
o Others as needed
To further assist the restaurant industry and push our #SupportStLucie message, we have partnered
with the Firefly group and Tambone Companies. Together, we have built out a website that lists food
establishments doing curbside pick-up, take-out and delivery services. This page is being heavily
promoted on our social media platforms, by email and hopefully publicized by the local media.
We are still active on our social media and content sharing platforms -- all of our posts are being posted
organically as not to incur any extra expenses at this time:
o On these platforms, we have shifted to an "inspirational" strategy that allows us to provide content
that still keeps us in the mind of our followers, but while still being sensitive to the COVID-19
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situation. We are using many "virtual" trip videos along with photos and ideas to consider when it
becomes responsible to travel again. We are getting good engagement on this. We are using the
hashtag #SeeYouInStLucie to track this activity.
RECOVERY
We are working with our Treasure Coast tourism partners (Indian River & Martin County) on a strategic
marketing plan for our recovery for Florida's Treasure Coast.
We are working as a division and with our media vendor partners and local industry partners (hotels,
attractions, etc.) to build a strategic marketing plan for recovery for St. Lucie.
Both of the plans will be in place and ready to roll out with its’ responsible to do so.
The Tourism Division is honored to be working with amazing partners that are helping to assist businesses that
are suffering. We have experienced that sometimes just the phone call makes a difference to a business owner.
We are maintaining our perseverance and hope knowing that the tourism industry is very resilient and has
recovered from many previous disasters.
Cleveland Clinic- All locations are open and operational with all locations remaining open to the public.
Elective procedures and non-emergent outpatient are currently suspended. Telemedicine in ambulatory sites is
available with option for face to face visitation. Each facility has controlled access.
South Florida Water Management District - South Florida Water Management District (District) facilities are
open to staff, closed to public.
Social distancing required for all staff at District workplaces
The District has temporarily closed public access to some District Lands. Camping is suspended on ALL
District Lands until further notice. For more information visit SFWMD.gov/Recreation.
The EOC is operating at Level 2 - Partial Activation
St. Lucie West Services District - St. Lucie West Services District is operating Utilities and Public Work
Services to the St. Lucie West Community. We have taken the steps below in response to the COVID-19:
Closed Customer service office to the public.
Split all shifts and staggered employees work hours.
In instances where employees are required to work together, due to essential services, they are wearing
proper PPE.
Employees are required to disinfect after driving a common vehicle. Common areas are also being
cleaned and disinfected on a regular basis.
Currently, St. Lucie West Services District does not have any needs or challenges.
SECTION REPORTS
Reporting Sections and ESF’s:
Finance/Administration Section
The Finance/Administration Section has completed the breakdown of expenses incurred to date for the COVID-
19 response. Additionally, Section staff are working on reviewing and tracking FEMA documentation forms.
Logistics Section
(ESF02 – Communications) No significant change. They are receiving approximately about 12 calls per hour
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between 8:00 AM and 3:00 PM. The Public Information Line is open Mon – Sat, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
(ESF06 – Mass Care) Student meal servings have changed to Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Two (2)
days’ worth of meals are provided on the designated days: Breakfast and lunch. About 9,000 meals are
provided daily, which means that the School District is providing about 18,000 meals for 2 days’ worth to
families.
(ESF07 - Resource Management) Received one (1) shipment of three (3) pallets at the Logistics Center and
completed the distribution of all previous FDOH orders.
All resource requests that were received partially in supplies are going to be marked COMPLETE. Too many of
the requests are for high amounts that are way past a 10-day time frame. These facilities will need to submit a
new request form for each item indicating their burn rate and requesting their 10 day supply. Assessments and
re-submissions should occur approx. every ten (10) days to assure facility needs are met.
Logistics is working to complete the Non-Congregate Sheltering Plan and working with Planning on how to
request State and FEMA assistance for the set-up of Non Congregate Sheltering. (22) Counties have been
Approved, (12) are pending FEMA approval and (5) counties have amended their applications and awaiting
FEMA approval.
Data as of April 17, 2020
Operations Section
County COOP Branch: The County’s Animal Safety, Service & Protection Division staff continues to provide
critical mission services for businesses and residents; however, there will be a temporary reduction in the
number of responses to calls for service in order to further reduce the possibility of community spread of
COVID-19. If residents are experiencing an animal emergency, they can still call 911 to report an incident.
Residents can also check the County’s website www.stlucieco.gov/lost _pets to see if lost pets have been
housed at the County’s temporary animal shelter.
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(ESF04 - Firefighting) St. Lucie County Fire District - the Administrative Complex is currently closed to the
public. Any employee who enters the facility must be screened prior to entry. Employees who are capable of
working from home have been instructed to do so. Community Risk Reduction is closed as well. That division
receives plans that are dropped off on site outside the building in electronic format for review. Inspections have
been suspended with the exception of permitted projects and stated-required annual inspections. Inspections in
vulnerable healthcare settings such as assisting living facilities and hospitals have been suspended as the
direction of the State of Florida. Such facilities have been granted a 90-day extension for license renewal. All
personnel participate in self-monitoring with regular screenings while on duty. Temperatures and symptoms are
documented in electronic spreadsheets. CDC recommendations regarding sick employees and their return
have been implemented as well.
Fire stations have been closed to the public. Crews not involved in emergency mitigation activities must wear
cloth or surgical masks when in public. Crews are permitted to leave the station only once during a shift to
purchase food. Stations are regularly cleaned and disinfected. Work clothes are not to be worn outside of shift
work. They are to be washed and kept at the station. Crews must report to work in street clothes and leave in
street clothes. Station boots are not to be worn inside the station. Sprayers have been procured for all stations
so crews can decontaminate their apparatus and living quarters with DSV, an FDA-approved virocide for
COVID-19. The solution is effectively sprayed with an air compressor. When aerosol-generating procedures
are performed treating suspected COVID-19 patients, units can be taken OOS to be properly disinfected at the
station while crews remove possibly contaminated clothing and take a shower. The Risk Manager reviews
every reported incident that involves a suspected COVID-19 patient. She contacts the hospitals to follow-up on
the status of patients and reports her findings to administration and the personnel involved. Every suspected
and confirmed COVID-19 transport is documented.
The Fire District is fortunate to not have any immediate needs. The Fire District was proactive in the early onset
of the COVID-19 outbreak and was able to secure a sufficient amount of required PPE to be in compliance with
CDC recommendations. Burn rates are being monitored regularly, and an increase in PPE supplies has been
observed as was anticipated. N95 respirators continue to be difficult to acquire, but the Fire District has a
enough supply to last several weeks at the current burn rate. N95 respirators are being reused up to a
maximum of 5 times before being discarded in accordance with CDC recommendations. Such actions have
minimized the burn rate of the respirators. Gowns are in short supply, but there is enough stock for several
weeks as well. There has not been an increase in call outs, and there have been no cases of personnel
contracting COVID-19. The Fire District communicates regularly with the EOC and Department of Health.
There are no concerns at this time.
(ESF08 - Health and Medical) Department of Health in St. Lucie (DOH) continues to communicate with local
healthcare facilities in order to prioritize supply distribution.
Cleveland Clinic (Tradition): (177) Total beds, currently has (87) Available beds.
St. Lucie Medical Center: (229) Total beds, currently has (117) Available beds.
Lawnwood Regional Medical Center: (392) Total beds, currently has (116) Available beds.
Total available beds as of 4/17/2020
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They remain prepared and ready to assist St. Lucie County with all COVID-19 concerns.
(ESF16 – Law Enforcement) St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office - As soon as Governor and/or County orders
were issued we began activation. Our MO in this health crisis is to Educate, Persuade and Last Arrest. We
have backed our office personnel to immediate need operations. The main office on Midway is closed to the
public. All unessential activities (fingerprinting, background checks, report copies, etc.) are being done by
phone, email or written request. There are no duties that include in person contact being performed. Our Patrol
division is working as usual with added manpower on shift, utilizing personnel from other divisions. School
Resource Deputies have been back flowed into other working divisions which include school check, DJJ check
and assisting with School Board distributions. The Courts are working at bare minimum and even though most
Judges are working by ZOOM, a deputy is still requested in the courtroom. Our training division is working on
educating our deputies on safety protocol and how to manage “routine” business in a new way. Our civilian
workers are working from home, working split shift and working from other than normal offices they would report
to in order to keep social distancing. Deputies have been assigned to HQ for the sole purpose of taking
reports. Crime has not gone down, the calls have just shifted dramatically. We are seeing more domestic type
crimes, robberies instead of burglaries and many, many reports of Stay at Home violations. The response to
beaches being closed have been our most “popular” complaint. People just will not stay away from the
beaches. They are parking everywhere and anywhere as long as they’re close enough to walk. They are
trespassing on private property to access the beach and once in the water ignore all law enforcement request to
leave. The boat ramps and parks are jammed, not only with county citizens but many from out of county and
out of state. Parking tickets are being issued when a vehicle is causing a hazard and an owner can’t be located.
Towing a vehicle is also not out of the question should the need arise. Operations are still continuing however
in some cases in a much more creative way.
Each deputy has been issued hand sanitizer, gloves, 2 N95 masks and a full PPE kit. All our briefings have
been suspended and each person entering any of our building submits to their temperature being taken.
Special orders have been written to accommodate employees 65+ years old and those with doctor written notes
due to medical issues that might cause them to become a COVID 19 recipient. All Activities that where
scheduled through our Community Engagement Division have been cancelled or suspended through May 2020,
with options to extend the time frame. Vehicle disinfecting stations have been placed at headquarters and the
jail. All potential inmates are asked pertinent questions reference their health and their temperature is taken
prior to entry into the facility
Needs: Our needs have basically been the same throughout the health crisis. Our staff are reusing N95 masks
due to lack of them. We issued gator type masks for 700 sworn law enforcement and correction deputies to
wear at all times. We have received partial orders from our WebEOC request and have been hunting endlessly
for supplies from private vendors. We are limiting our arrests to must arrest for community safety and writing
warrants or issuing Notice to Appears for those that do not need to be incarcerated. The jail is working hard to
keep COVID-19 out of the facility. Disinfecting, cleaning and inmate separation are almost to the point of ad-
nauseum. We are well aware that if the virus gets into the jail we have a whole another problem. We have
already worked out plans for alternate medical site should this occur.
We have purchased hand sanitizer from vendors, where possible, and have also been making hand sanitizer
due to the inability to find it anywhere. Partial WebEOC orders have begun to come in however none for
sanitizer.
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Another challenge is that we have attempted to get our deputies tested for COVID-19 when they have been
symptomatic and they have been denied because they are not 65 years old. We are now dealing with arrestees
saying that they tested positive for COVID-19 when we place them in the police car and are under arrest. This
causes high anxiety. Yet still unless our deputies are 65+ and symptomatic they are refusing to test.
Challenges:
Inability to get adequate or appropriate supplies
Lack of Citizen cooperation to Stay at Home Order
Parking and closing of beaches
Crowded and open boat ramps and parks
Arrestees claiming infection to prevent being arrested
Isolating inmates/arrestees that are symptomatic
Inability to get deputies tested even if they are symptomatic
In the past few days the roadways seem to be more travelled. Traffic is heavier and areas of the County are
actually backing up as if “business as usual”. Uptick in home related/domestic type calls for service are
imminent and are already beginning.
We have no known COVID-19 employees, some employees are opting to stay home due to health or age
reasons.
City of Ft. Pierce Police Department
Operations:
The Fort Pierce Police main station and Willie B. Ellis substation are closed to the public. Fort Pierce City
Hall is closed to the public with the exception of appointments with the Building Department.
All essential personnel are reporting to work with non-essential personnel working from home.
All police services, other than walk-in fingerprinting services, are fully operational. Any services that can
be completed via phone contact are being done in that manner.
Police essential services are to provide public safety. Those services have and will continue unabated.
With the exception of the Sunrise Theater, all other City services are continuing with modification in
certain instances.
There is no public entry to the police department at this time. Employees enter via different entrances.
Entry to City Hall is via the main door and access is monitored.
Needs:
Resource requests have been partially filled for PPE and hand sanitizer. We still have open resource requests.
Our resource request for disinfectant and cleaning materials was denied due to lack of supplies. We are trying
to source as much PPE and other supplies from outside vendors when available.
Challenges:
Sourcing PPE and hand sanitizer remains a major challenge at this time. We are having great difficulty with
COVID-19 testing for our employees who become ill and are not part of an “at risk” category to be tested. Given
that police officers are integral to public safety, and risk exposure daily, there should be some sort of
prioritization for their testing.
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Planning Section
(ESF05) Situation Unit: Developing and publishing daily Situation Reports for the incident. Incident Action Plan
thst
(IAP) provided for April 16 will be in effect through April 21 and is published in WebEOC. For any significant
facility closures please send information to the email: planningchief@stlucieco.org. Staff is initiated review of a
draft Pandemic Medical Treatment Site Plan for the purpose of expanded emergency care capacity.
(ESF05) Mission/Resource Unit: Monitoring local Resource Requests and inputting Resource Requests into
FDEM’s WebEOC with approval from the Incident Commander.
Working on the methodology for projecting the 10-day supply needs for resources and PPEs. The initial
approach is extending the “burn rate” across a 10-day period. Alternative calculations, accounting for weekends
or hybrid work days to be evaluated.
(ESF05) Documentation Unit: All constitutional agencies and stakeholders were to send updated information to
formulate a Common Operating Picture (COP) by 10:00 today. Included information should have included
unmet needs, personal protective measures, financial impacts, challenges, operational modifications, and
recovery plans. All future updates to this information should be sent to the St. Lucie County Liaison Officer,
Nicole Fogarty, at FogartyN@stlucieco.org and the Planning Section Chief, at planningchief@stlucieco.org.
GIS is an incredible storytelling tool. Think about how the John’s Hopkins interactive world infection map or the
Florida Health map inform our understanding of the Common Operating Picture.
(ESF05) Recovery Unit: The GIS Team is evaluating opportunities to support the recovery efforts through data
and information access, providing spatial analysis to help data-driven decisions.
Safety Officer
SOCIAL DISTANCING REMINDER:
We are relying on all stakeholders and their organizations to enforce social distancing and best practices for
preventing/slowing the spread of COVID-19. Whenever possible, the following practices should be implemented
to reduce contact within the workplace:
Avoid meeting people face-to-face. BOCC employees are encouraged to use the telephone, online conferencing
through Microsoft Teams (call IT for Assistance), e-mail or instant messaging (Cisco Jabber) to conduct
business as much as possible, even when participants are in the same office/building. If a meeting is required,
have the meeting in a well-ventilated area and ensure that all employees are at least six (6) feet apart from one
another. Implement staggered work shifts so that everyone in your office is not working at the same time. Have
crew members report to the main work site instead of riding together in one truck. Family First Act informational
posters have been distributed for employee education to all St. Lucie County Departments.
BACKGROUND
A State of Local Emergency was declared in St. Lucie County (SLC) on 3/17/2020; the Governor of Florida
issued a State of Emergency on 3/16/2020; the President of the United States issued a Federal Disaster
Declaration on 3/13/2020. The Emergency Operations Center (EOC) was activated at 0800 hours on
Wednesday, March 18, 2020. Medical and cleaning supplies remain on backorder with the Florida Division of
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Emergency Management (FDEM). The State EOC has received an overwhelming volume of requests,
therefore, priority remains with counties experiencing the greater number of COVID-19 cases. In preparation for
future medical needs, St. Lucie County continues to support the Department of Health in identifying potential
alternate care sites and resource coordination. The County has prepared the Havert L. Fenn Center as an
Alternate Care Site to be available in case of surge. The County continues to distribute information regarding
COVID-19 and County services to the public through “Alert St Lucie”, Social Media, SLC’s Website and Press
briefs.
Executive Order 20-92 remains in effect to limit statewide movement and personal interactions of people outside
of their home to essential services.
St. Lucie County’s buildings will be closed on Fridays throughout the month of April; however Emergency
Operations and essential public safety functions remain active and working remotely when available in order to
adhere to social distancing guidelines and best practices.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act signed by President Trump in late March
provided $150 billion in direct support to only those local governments with a population of 500,000 or more.
Congressman Mast supports the Coronavirus Community Relief Act which will provide local governments with
$250 billion in direct funding. This Bill will provide funding to all local governments with fewer than 500,000
people on a per capita basis (below 500,000 people because those entities are funded via the CARES Act), and
allow them to use the funding to offset lost revenue due to the pandemic.
All employees working EOC functions are requested to track work related hours daily and complete FEMA
forms and Summary Documents.
Department of Health in St. Lucie continues to compile a volunteer force of qualified medical professionals to
manage increases in COVID-19 cases, if the need arises. The Florida Department of Health in St. Lucie
operates a Medical Reserve Corps that can be activated in situations such as the current pandemic. Any
licensed healthcare professional who is willing to volunteer in the event there is a need for additional doctors,
nurses, EMTs and other healthcare experts are encouraged to register
at https://www.flhealthresponse.com/mrcvolunteer. Under Florida Statute 110.504, sovereign immunity is
provided to volunteers. State Statute 768.28 is the Sovereign Immunity Law and 768.1355 is the Volunteer
Protection Act which allows licensed professionals to volunteer, and have their licenses protected. Every
medical professional that registers will be vetted by the Florida Department of Health before being activated.
RESOURCES
The Florida Department of Health COVID-19 Call Center can be accessed by calling 1-(866) 779-6121. The
Call Center is available 24 hours / 7 days. Public Information Line 772-460-HELP (4357). Inquiries may also be
emailed to COVID-19@flhealth.gov. You can also contact the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) for information by calling 1-800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636) or go to
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html. High recommendation is given to practice protective
measures for employees, essential functions, and alternate work capabilities (e.g., telework, alternate
schedules). For detailed information on preparing the workplace see the Occupational Safety and Health
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(OSHA) Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19.
To ensure continuity of operations of essential functions, the CDC advises that critical infrastructure workers
may be permitted to continue work following potential exposure to COVID-19, provided they remain
asymptomatic and additional precautions are implemented to protect them and the community. Critical
Infrastructure workers who have had an exposure but remain asymptomatic should adhere to the following
practices prior to and during their work shift:
Pre-Screen: Employers should measure the employee’s temperature and assess symptoms prior to
them starting work. Ideally, temperature checks should happen before the individual enters the facility.
Regular Monitoring: As long as the employee doesn’t have a temperature or symptoms, they should
self-monitor under the supervision of their employer’s occupational health program.
Wear a Mask: The employee should wear a face mask at all times while in the workplace for 14 days
after last exposure. Employers can issue facemasks or can approve employees’ supplied cloth face
coverings in the event of shortages.
Social Distance: The employee should maintain 6 feet and practice social distancing as work duties
permit in the workplace.
Disinfect and Clean Work Spaces: Clean and disinfect all areas such as offices, bathrooms, common
areas, shared electronic equipment routinely.
DOH Division of Disease Control Emergency Rule: Disease or Conditions to be Reported 64DER20-26 (64D-
3.029) requires immediate reporting of suspected or confirmed cases and both positive and negative test results
of Coronavirus (COVID-19) by physicians, hospitals, and laboratories. The person to be contacted regarding
the emergency rule is: Carina Blackmore, Florida Department of Health, 4052 Bald Cypress Way, Tallahassee,
Florida 32399-1703, (850) 245-4732.
Phone Number: 772-462-1580
Prepared by: Jodi Nentwick
Fax Number: 772-462-8484 E-mail Address: nentwickJ@stlucieco.org
15305 W Midway Rd Latitude: 30.59824 16R DU 93318508
County EOC Location:
Ft. Pierce FL 34945 Longitude: 87.06948
HOTLINE / MEDIA INFORMATION
Public Information Line #
PIO Phone #: 772-462-8100 PIO: Erick Gill
772-460-4357 (460-HELP)
Approved by: Leslie Olson, Planning Section Chief
Date/Time: April 18, 2020; 1400 HRS
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