Twin Falls County Considers State of Emergency
First, words like States of Emergency and shelter in place don’t mean “lockdown” or “martial law”. Often, a state of emergency is declared because it makes it legally easier to receive disaster assistance. At the moment, the City of Twin Falls is down a couple of firefighters. They were exposed last week to a patient with COVID-19. The city doesn’t have a lot of firefighters to spare. And as some of you know, voters rejected plans for the construction of detox units at fire stations. These would be used by staff returning from calls.
It’ll be at the ready if and when the county would need to respond to a potential outbreak.
Twin Falls County will today join the city in considering a State of Emergency.
It’ll be at the ready if and when the county would need to respond to a potential outbreak. This could happen among county departments and offices or even inside an overcrowded jail. The latter would require protective gear for medical personnel and Jail Deputies.
Such an order from the County Commission would speed purchase of supplies.
Some county offices are already limiting public contact. You would see this at the licensing division of the DMV, and I believe the Buhl DMV is restricting public access.
One other interesting point, if cases of coronavirus peak later this week, as some expect, then any States of Emergency in the Magic Valley may be short in duration.
You can see today’s public agenda by clicking this link. Meetings are open to the public and take place on the second floor of the County West Building (the old hospital off Addison Avenue).