- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
Board of Supervisors officially ends COVID-19 emergency
In a 5-0 vote Tuesday afternoon, the board acted to rescind Resolution No. 2020-22, which enacted the emergency in March of 2020.
As of Tuesday, there have been 13,661 cases in Lake County and 157 deaths. Statewide, there have been 11.1 million cases and 100,640 total deaths since the start of the pandemic.
Resolution No. 2020-22 originally was passed 4-1 — with then-District 5 Supervisor Rob Brown voting no — on March 10, 2020.
The board’s action ratified a public health emergency that then-Public Health Officer Dr. Gary Pace declared on the same day.
Three days later, on Friday, March 13, 2020, then-Sheriff Brian Martin proclaimed the existence of a local emergency due to existing conditions that could introduce COVID-19 into Lake County.
That action was followed within hours by the cities of Clearlake and Lakeport issuing emergency declarations citing the existence of “conditions of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property” due to the potential for COVID-19’s introduction into their respective communities.
At the time of those initial declarations, COVID-19 hadn’t yet been detected in Lake County.
On March 22, 2020, Pace ordered that Clear Lake be closed due to concerns about an influx of visitors despite Gov. Gavin Newsom’s stay-at-home order.
“The risk of a devastating surge in Lake County was significant, and Clear Lake was serving as a magnet, drawing activity that threatened public health,” Pace said in the weeks that followed the action. “I felt I had to shut it down, to protect the well-being of all Lake County residents.”
On April 23, officials once again allowed fishing from Clear Lake’s shorelines, and fishing from kayaks and other hand-propelled vessels shortly followed, with public ramps reopening in early May.
It wasn’t until April 5, 2020, that Pace confirmed Lake County’s first confirmed COVID-19 case, in an individual who contracted it due to an exposure at an out-of-county workplace.
Lake County’s first COVID-19 death was confirmed at the start of July 2020. That individual had become sick at home and was transported by ambulance to a hospital emergency room where they died.
In August 2020, most of Lake County’s schools reopened classes in distance learning mode, with Lucerne Elementary and Upper Lake Unified leading the way by being on campus — although with hybrid options — earlier than other districts.
The county’s convalescent and skilled nursing facilities were hard hit in the summer and early fall of 2020 as numerous cases and deaths were reported.
The Lake County Jail also reported outbreaks, and numerous measures were taken to lessen the impact of the virus, including changing visitation procedures and taking in fewer inmates for an extended period of time.
The pandemic also resulted in impacts to the operations of the Lake County Superior Court. The court asked for, and received, from the state Judicial Council trial time extensions and for some time jury selection and trials took place at the Lake County Fairgrounds, where people could be safely spaced apart.
In July 2021, the Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a resolution urging all community members to wear masks in indoor public settings at the same time as Lake County’s COVID-19 case rate doubled and showed no sign of slowing.
In August 2021, the California Department of Public Health issued a new public health order requiring all school staff to either show proof of full vaccination or be tested at least once per week.
In October 2021, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced his plans to add the COVID-19 vaccine to the list of vaccinations required to attend school in-person when the vaccine receives full approval from the Food and Drug Administration for middle and high school grades, making California the first state in the nation to take such action.
Throughout late 2021 and into 2022, those COVID-19 vaccination mandates at schools led to numerous heated school board meetings. Several county school boards approved a similar resolution asking the state not to enforce vaccine mandates for students and staff.
In October 2022, with no major surge, restrictions began to ease and Newsom announced his plans to end the COVID-19 emergency at the end of February.
With the state’s emergency ending on Feb. 28, local jurisdictions also began to end their emergencies.
On March 7, the Lakeport City Council terminated its COVID-19 emergency declaration.
Earlier that same day, the Board of Supervisors had pulled the ongoing resolution from the consent agenda to ask staff if it was still needed.
In response, County Administrative Officer Susan Parker and her staff followed up with the Public Health Department.
In the letter to the board dated March 9, Sporer requested that the COVID-19 emergency be rescinded and he didn’t believe continued enforcement of an emergency declaration remains necessary given the current state of the pandemic.
Per the direction of the California Department of Public Health, Sporer said the Health Service Department will ensure that any changes in the community-based spread of COVID-19 that could impact the County of Lake is communicated.
“While the pandemic has presented significant challenges to our community, I believe that it is time to reconsider the need for an emergency declaration. We have made significant progress in mitigating the spread of the virus through vaccinations, mask-wearing, and social distancing measures. Currently, the county is at a low to medium tier, and we have remained on this trend for several weeks,” Sporer wrote.
He added, “It is important to note, however, that even with this progress, it is still encouraged to practice necessary safety measures to prevent illness and the potential spread of Covid-19. This is especially important if a resident of the county is experiencing symptoms of Covid-19 or has tested positive for Covid-19. Also, this is important for those who could have compromised
immune systems or potential comorbidities.”
Supervisor Michael Green noted, “A lot has happened in the last three years,” and that it has impacted remote work, how we design work spaces and congregate in crowded rooms.
He asked staff if the county’s workplace policy developed in response to COVID-19 is going to survive if they rescinded the resolution.
Parker said it would, and Human Resources Director Pam Samac said it will become a part of the county’s injury and illness prevention program.
There were no comments from the public before Supervisor Moke Simon moved to rescind the ordinance.
Supervisor Bruno Sabatier seconded Simon’s motion, and the board voted 5-0.
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