Several U.S. cities, counties, and states have declared public health emergencies in the midst of an outbreak of the new strain of coronavirus, dubbed COVID-19.
A public health emergency declaration typically means that resources meant to help handle public health crises are released and made easily accessible for health officials.
San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg declared a public health emergency March 2, according to CNBC. City officials made the decision after the federal government released a woman who tested positive for COVID-19 from quarantine. The woman was one of 91 Americans who were evacuated from Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the global coronavirus outbreak, and placed in quarantine at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland for 14 days. She was tested twice before being released, but then new test results showed that she was still infected with the virus.
On Feb. 25, San Francisco's mayor declared a local emergency to help the city prepare for a potential outbreak, according to CNN. The declaration allowed public health workers, including nurses, case managers and social workers, to focus on preparedness and prevention rather than nonessential duties. It also placed clinicians on call to answer questions about the coronavirus from anyone who calls the city's customer service number.
California's Santa Clara County, Sonoma County, Orange County and San Diego County have all declared public health emergencies, in the last few weeks, several news outlets have reported. Sonoma County is the most recent to have made the declaration, after a county resident back from a cruise to Mexico was diagnosed with COVID-19. The resident was the first person in the county to contract the illness.
Of the 106 COVID-19 cases reported in the U.S, at least 40 have been reported in California, the Los Angeles Times reports. This includes people who were infected on the Diamond Princess cruise ship or in Wuhan, China, and then brought back to the U.S.
Washington state and Florida have also declared states of emergency, according to U.S. News & World Report.
Washington has reported six COVID-19 deaths as of March 2, of which five were in King County, which has also declared a state of emergency. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee told state agencies to use all resources on hand to combat the outbreak, including the National Guard.
In Florida, two residents tested positive for the virus March 1, which resulted in Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declaring the emergency and calling on the state's health department of Health to coordinate response activities, according to the report.