March 31, 2020
Dear Community Members,
As the City of Coalinga continues to monitor the COVID-19 pandemic, we are asking the public to follow the directives provided by Governor Newsom to help fight COVID-19.
Those directives are as follows:
- Remain at home until order is rescinded, or until further guidance is issued.
- Cancel any non-essential travel, appointments, etc.
- For routine medical care, contact your health care provider to discuss rescheduling.
- Continue with outdoor activities.
- As long as you practice social distancing, we encourage you to continue your outdoor activities such as walks, runs and yardwork , to the extent your health allows it.
- Practice social distancing.
- Maintain distance, at least six feet, between yourself and anyone who is coughing or sneezing.Avoid handshaking, hugging or other intimate types of greetings-greet others with a wave, nod or bow instead.
- Stay in touch with others by phone or email.
- Ask friends and family to do any essential grocery shopping, picking up medications , etc.You should ask for help from friends, family, neighbors, community health workers, etc. if you become sick.
- Determine who can provide you with care if your caregiver gets sick.
- Family and Caregiver Support
- Family, friends, and caregivers who come to your home to provide you with support should be asymptomatic , meaning having no fever, cough, or other respiratory symptoms.
- Know what medications your loved one or client is taking and see if you can help them have extra on hand.
- Monitor food and other medical supplies (oxygen , incontinence , dialysis, and wound care) needed and
- create a back-up plan.
- Stock up on non-perishable food items to have on hand in your home.
- Have supplies on hand
- Contact your healthcare provider to ask about obtaining extra necessary medications to have on hand.
- If you cannot get extra medications, consider using mail-order for medications.
- Be sure you have over-the-counter medicines and medical supplies (tissues, etc.) to treat fever and other symptoms.
- Have a plan for if you get sick:
- Consult with your health care provider for more information about monitoring your health for symptoms suggestive of COVID-19.
- Stay in touch with others by phone or email. You may need to ask for help from friends, family, neighbors, community health workers, etc. if you become sick.
- Watch for symptoms and emergency warning signs
- Pay attention to potential COVID-19 symptoms including fever, cough and shortness of breath. If you develop symptoms, call your doctor or local public health department.
- If you develop emergency warning signs for COVID-19, get medical attention immediately. In adults, emergency warning signs* include:
- Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath Persistent pain or pressure in the chest New confusion or inability to arouse Bluish lips or face
- *This list is not all inclusive. Please consult your medical provider for any other symptom that is severe or concerning.
- Hand washing
- Wash hands frequently for at least 20 seconds.
- Encourage hand washing by family and friends, particularly children. Provide alcohol based hand sanitizers to supplement hand washing. Avoid touching eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands.
- Clean frequently used devices, such as mobile phones.
- Clean and disinfect your home to remove germs: practice routine cleaning of frequently touched surfaces (for example: tables, doorknobs, light switches, handles, desks, toilets, faucets, sinks & cell phones) with common cleaning supplies
- See the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidance regarding the prevention of disease in homes and residential communities.
- Use "respiratory etiquette."
- Cover cough with a tissue or sleeve. See CDC’s Cover Your Cough page for multilingual posters and flyers, posted at the bottom of webpage.
- Provide adequate supplies within easy reach, including tissues and no touch trash cans.
It is important that we all work together to help stop the spread of COVID-19. Currently, we are not aware of any confirmed cases within the City of Coalinga, however, that can change at any given moment as the situation remains very fluid. Some are not taking this pandemic seriously and are continuing their daily routines as normal.
I urge each of you to consider the seriousness of this issue and the harm it may cause this community if each and every person is not doing their part to help contain this virus.
We have been made aware of plans to open our local hospital, Coalinga Regional Medical Center, in the upcoming weeks. We have received questions from community members as to whether or not this hospital will become a COVID-19 treatment facility for patients from out of the area. While it does not seem that will be the case based on the resources available to the hospital as well as the way it is set up, the City has not received official communication regarding the intent of the hospital’s reopening. We have reached out to our local state Senators and Congressman in an attempt to obtain a formal statement from the Governor’s Office, but we have not received any official response regarding the intent.
At this time, City Hall is closed to the public. We are continuing to provide essential services and City staff remains available to assist the public. Members of the public may contact City staff by calling (559) 935-1533 or by emailing info@coalinga.com.
I also encourage all community members to like the official City of Coalinga Facebook page as we continue to post one-way communication informing the community on important matters.
Our next regularly scheduled City Council meeting will be held on Thursday, April 2, 2020, beginning at 6:00
p.m. This meeting is being held via webinar only. The webinar address for members of the public is https://www.bigmarker.com/griswold lasalle/4-2-2020-Coalinga-Counci l- Meeting3-2020-04-02-06-00-pm. Community Members will be able to ask questions and make comments during the meeting, but for those who are unable to participate, you can email questions or comments ahead of time to info@coalinga.com and ask that your email me read publicly during the City Council meeting.
Additionally, we need to do what we can to support our local businesses during this tough economic time. Together, we will get through this, but we all need to do our part.
Thank you,
Ron Lander, Mayor