County Manager Harry Burgess
By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com
Los Alamos County continues to implement changes as the COVID-19 pandemic evolves, County Manager Harry Burgess reported during the regular County Council meeting March 31.
Two weeks ago, he said, the County initiated new policies regarding the COVID-19 outbreak. This resulted in department heads sending as many employees as possible home. He said employees could telework and emergency leave was given to non-essential jobs.
The original policy was effective through April 6 but then U.S. President Trump extended his stay-at-home order through the end of April and Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham did the same with her order, and Burgess said he anticipates doing the same with the County.
He added the situation is evolving and changes daily and County staff are working to keep the public notified of closures and changes in services. Burgess added the Municipal Building is still open for business and essential services such as fire, police and utilities remain unchanged. Since the fire department does handle medical calls, Burgess said should a someone in the fire department get the coronavirus, the department’s training station on DP Road will be used for isolation. Burgess said the station has the necessary beds and bathrooms should anyone be exposed to the virus.
“This is a different emergency situation than probably any of us have been in in our lifetimes,” he said.
Burgess added Los Alamos has yet to see the full brunt of the coronavirus, but efforts are underway to be prepared when it hits.
The County does have an emergency operations plan, he said, and directives from the state’s emergency declaration were incorporated into the County’s plan. Additionally, Chair Sara Scott declared a local disaster, which allows for the County to receive federal funding and resources, as needed, Burgess said.
As the summer months progress, Burgess said County officials will need to consider many of its big events including the Summer Concert Series, Science Fest and the July 4 celebration. Right now, staff are taking a wait and see approach, he said.
Additionally, Burgess said to assist Los Alamos Public Schools students in doing their online schoolwork, REDI Net is offering to provide an Internet hot spot in town for students to access in order to do their homework. He said REDI Net is trying to identify the right site for the hot spot.
Councilor Antonio Maggiore asked about what the state health department’s turnaround was for announcing the results of COVID-19 tests. He wondered if results still took seven to 10 days.
Los Alamos County Emergency Manager Beverley Simpson said that was correct and it wasn’t known when the results for the tests administered locally, which was reported at the March 31 meeting to be 43, would be processed.
Although not pleased with the answer, Maggiore commended Simpson and the County.
“Thank you for all your work throughout this,” he said. “Thank you, Harry (Burgess), and thank you to County staff. Please keep up the good work. I’m not happy with the answers I heard but I appreciate the honesty.”
Councilor Katrina Schmidt asked how prepared Los Alamos Medical Center (LAMC) is for responding to the coronavirus.
“We noted in a prior conversation … chair Scott and myself visited with the hospital CEO a couple different times one of the big issues there was identified we only had three ventilators within the County and they are obviously center of care for critical patients and that is going to be a limiting factor in who they can effectively treat,” Burgess said. “Our fire department went back through its inventory … they were able to find within their cache five additional ventilators, which more than doubles those that were available here in the County and those were presented to the hospital as well to improve their ability to respond to these needs.”
Simpson added the hospital has several plans, and one is a pandemic plan. She added it does have resources available to receive its pharmaceuticals and other things. She added LAMC has floated all its OR nurses down to its ER to assist with any surges it might have. Simpson said the County has offered two tent, called Alaskan Shelters, which could be used for triage areas in front of the hospital, if there is an influx or surge of patients.
Regarding personal protective equipment (PPE), Councilor James Robinson asked if Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Occupational Medicine division could provide any PPE to the hospital.
Simpson said she would look into it, adding that LANL had donated PPE but it was through the federal government. She told the Daily Post on Monday that LANL is unable to donate any PPE to the hospital, but the hospital did receive PPE March 30 from the Strategic National Stockpile through the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
Councilor David Izraelevitz asked about the County’s pandemic annex of the emergency management plan.
Simpson said the annex is based on the emergency operations plan. It delineates further the responsibility of what the supporting agencies would be. She explained the plan has the County reaching out to the Department of Health, the American Red Cross, the public schools, LAMC and other County businesses such as the Los Alamos Retired Senior Organization. Simpson said it talks about assumptions what the state would do, the Department of Health would do and what steps the County should take.
Right now, she said, the County is in the preparedness phase. The County is monitoring, assessing and collaborating with local health care providers. Providing information to the public is key, she said. The next phases are an alert phase and a response phase. Included these phases would be self-quarantine, self-isolation and following the Governor’s orders.