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Bergosh: Escambia County Needs To Get Ahead Of The Coronavirus Locally
March 8, 2020
Escambia County Commissioner Jeff Bergosh says he wants to have a serious discussion this week about the coronavirus with his colleagues.
“I believe we need to be proactive in our leadership in discussing how we will handle an outbreak locally should we encounter such an event,” Bergosh said. He is requesting an agenda add-on for Thursday’s Committee of the Whole meeting for the commission to talk plans.
Bergosh said his biggest concern right now for county operations is planning for infections that might arise in the Escambia County Jail.
“If we are put in the unfortunate circumstance that we have one or more infections in our jail–then we need to be prepared with a plan of how that will be handled–because that could become a problem of geometric proportion if it occurred,” the District 1 commissioner said. “We need to be discussing this now, just as other communities are. ”
He said plans also need to be made for ECAT and how the county will handle mass transit if the virus spreads locally — including how to disinfect buses or what to do if drivers become infected.
“I’m not an alarmist, and I am not trying to panic folks,” Bergosh said. “But we need to get ahead of this locally.”
Comments
16 Responses to “Bergosh: Escambia County Needs To Get Ahead Of The Coronavirus Locally”
Problems are in the eyes of the beholder. In Europe people are going crazy because they are told to refrain from taking their 4 vacations each year in another country!
In our area it would help if they would come out and say exactly how to treat this new virus. Just like the flu? What medication is most effective? All you hear is : wash your hands! Idiotic
Imagine the yearly flu without a flu shot available. That’s what we have here. Hundreds of thousands will be affected, thousands will die, as in China, and there is no vaccine. The vaccine won’t be available for at least a year, maybe two.
Let’s be real it’s not epidemic. It’s just a new type of virus. Probably released by global warming. (Lol). Next we will be blaming the aliens for releasing it, or maybe it’s China’s new population control. The real issue is more people die from drunk drivers and overdoses each day than this new virus. People need to get a grip stop listening to the media and the propaganda from all sides think for yourself be an advanced species. And use Lysol if your really worried that you need to disinfect. As far as our commissioner goes worry about getting the damn roads done. How many people have been hurt or killed because of the construction zones that take years to finish. Make those companies accountable for not working for weeks on end.
It is good that our elected officials are trying to slow the spread of the virus. It’s true the mortality rate is low but people need to realize we need to stop the spread of the virus not necessarily the virus itself. A 2 to 2.5% mortality rate is as low as influenza but at this point it’s the spread we need to stop and not so much the virus itself if that makes sense. If we have 2,000,000 contract the virus and we have a 2% mortality rate then 40,000 will die.
The politicians just need to make sure the medical professionals are part of this discussion.
They tell people to stay home that are sick, but that’s not reality. Many people work jobs that give very little sick leave. If they stay home they get wrote up and possibly fired.
This virus is the most dangerous to the elderly, and those with health issues. 80% of the people who get this virus get a mild case, many not even knowing they have it. A vaccine is being worked on at the moment. And we must be cautious with this virus, just like the flu. But we must not let the media Panic us. The president, vice president, and the CDC are working closely together along with our local officials. So I have no doubt that we will get ahead of this virus, which will help globally.
This virus is most dangerous to the elderly, and those with health problems. 80% of the people who get this virus get a mild case, some do not even know that they have it. We must stay calm while they are working on an vaccine. We must not take it lightly, however we must not let the media cause a panic.
Coronavirus is NOT “the flu,” and treatments for the flu are ineffective in dealing with it. People who get this new virus are much more likely to die than victims of influenza, because there has been no intergenerational resistance built up to a virus no human has encountered before.
Those who attempt to minimize the threat are doing our people a disservice, leaving us less prepared to deal with what faces us. As of this morning, the United States has identified more than 460 cases, including many who have not traveled abroad, and 20 Americans are dead. These number could increase exponentially over the coming weeks, seriously disrupting every facet of society.
The best time to take action is NOW, before that happens. Simply dismissing the virus as inconsequential will not make it “magically” go away.
We need a vaccine for this particular strain of virus, right now people in nursing homes and with preexisting medical problems are suffering the most or dying. The kids are probably fine from what I’ve been reading going on in other states but the elderly are most at risk. It doesnt help that nursing homes dont always do the best things for their residents. If we get vaccine or some other treatment that would be great, so long as they arent charging an arm and a leg for it. Larger cities are more at risk anyway.
Thanks Jeff for your vision and leadership on this issue.
This has gotten totally out of hand due to the hysteria the media is spreading. This hysteria is worse than the virus itself.The flu virus that spreads each is worse and you don’t hear the media talking about that.Test the people before you book them if you are that worried.I guess we could all stay inside our home till this all blows away.I will go out on a limb and say this hysteria will pass within two weeks when the media finds another subject to run into the ground.
Need to be looking at where it’s hitting the hardest everywhere else, in the general public. If it gets in the jail system, they the sick ones in isolation. The jail is at the most part already quarantined.
Positive thinking…
its good to be proactive rather than reactive.
The plan to curb the epidemics will only work if the patient (or those who suspect they are sick) will not bear the cost of analyses and treatment. Other wise a lot of people will think, OK, I’m young, it’s like a flu, I’ll sail through it no big deal and they will keep spreading the virus.
If you have to pay for the analysis, or have to go to a doctor, sit in their office TOGETHER WITH OTHER PEOPLE, pay for the visit, insurance or not, then probably get a referral, being forced to quarantine with no pay etc. lots of people will chose not do to it, especially if they only SUSPECT they have the virus.
In Korea if you think you got the virus, you drive to a test spot, you sit in your car, the medics take swabs and send the results to you to email or address or phone you give them.
How is this different than a flu epidemic, other than all the news hype around the world? Seriously. Meanwhile, it is good to know there is a leader looking ahead. I sure hope in the future that leaders look ahead regarding our roads, before things are built that will change that dynamic.
Really, sir? We have the highest diabetes rate in the state, more people will die from the common flu, or being shot by the thugs that roam our streets, and you worry about this little virus? Just wash your hands, and stay home if you’re sick. That’s pretty much it. That’s all you need to get ahead of this. Now, please let’s try to get ahead of the real threats to our community.