COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Pandemic Prompts City, Citizen Preparedness

With the recent publicity about the COVID-19 virus, how prepared should a family, a company, or even a government entity be to deal with it?

Sand Springs Fire Chief Mike Wood doesn’t advocate panic over what could be a potentially troubling outbreak, but he is urging preparation and prevention. Planning for a pandemic is critical when essential City services are involved.

The City of Sand Springs is heightening awareness among departments and employees to assure essential services continue should a significant outbreak occur.

Wood has been monitoring COVID-19 conditions, also more widely known as the Coronavirus, since January. On Wednesday, March 11, 2020 the World Health Organization (WHO) classified COVID-19 as a pandemic due to the number of cases being reported worldwide.

The complete clinical picture with regard to COVID-19 is not fully known. Reported illnesses have ranged from very mild (including some with no reported symptoms) to severe, including illness resulting in death. While information so far suggests that most COVID-19 illness is mild, a report out of China suggests serious illness occurs in 16% of cases. Older people and people of all ages with severe underlying health conditions - like heart disease, lung disease and diabetes, for example - seem to be at higher risk of developing a serious COVID-19 illness, Wood said.

The best defense against contracting the Coronavirus is proper hand washing. Many public facilities are posting signs reminding people to wash their hands thoroughly after using the restroom. People should cover their nose and mouth when sneezing or coughing. And a person’s hands should be kept away from his or her face whenever possible.

“People who are experiencing influenza-like symptoms should go home and stay at home away from others as much as possible until symptoms subside. If mild to moderate symptoms exist, public health officials are urging the public not to just “show up” at a medical facility or call 911, they ask instead for the person to reach out to their health care provider or local health department for guidance.” Wood said.

Many City employee functions are deemed essential to providing services to the public. Safety personnel such as police and firefighters are obvious examples. However, there are also many other essential support services such as sanitation workers, and water and sewer plant personnel who also oversee essential services, Wood noted.

To protect employees and the public, the City emphasis will be given to hand hygiene – including installation of sanitizing dispensers in key areas of public contact. Additionally, disinfecting efforts will be stepped up and some limitations for access to public buildings may become necessary.

Wood added he will continue to educate both City employees and the community about COVID-19 developments, using information from The Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH), and county health departments, all these entities have additional information available regarding the pandemic.

To view more information on the COVID-19 virus, go to the Tulsa Health Department’s website at www.tulsa-health.org. The CDC website also has very helpful information at www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

Our emergency phone notification system is a critical tool that we use to make sure you are notified of critical information in the event of a public health crisis, disaster or other major event. If you live in the City of Sand Springs corporate limits, please take time to register on the link below.

https://ok-sandsprings.regroup.com/signup

A few common sense measures such as maintaining a “social distance” of three to six feet between people is being encouraged.

“There are other internal measures we can implement to protect our workforce at the City while providing essential services to citizens,” Wood said. “We will continue to watch where the COVID-19 pandemic goes in the coming months, and will quickly take appropriate actions if concerning conditions develop locally.”