►
Description
Media briefing on Buncombe County preparation and response to Coronavirus (COVID-19)
A
A
I
just
want
to
emphasize
that
the
steps
were
taken
and
that
we're
gonna
share
with
you
today
are
to
protect
the
most
vulnerable
in
our
community.
Recent
time
is
a
resource
and
moving
to
mirror
the
state's
posture
in
order
to
better
prepare
baulkham
county
for
this,
our
response
I'll
turn
it
over
to
Jennifer
mullendore,
our
director
of
medical
services,
hi.
C
Jennie
mullendore
I'm,
the
medical
director
for
Buncombe,
County,
Health
and
Human
Services
and
I'm,
going
to
provide
a
little
situation,
update
of
the
status
of
kovat
19
in
the
state
as
well
as
locally.
So
as
of
2:30.
Today
there
are
14
presumptive
positive
cases
of
copán
19
in
North
Carolina,
one
confirmed
positive,
so
presumptive
positive
is
one
that
was
tested
through
the
state
lab
or
potentially
through
LabCorp,
confirmed
positive
means.
It
was
confirmed
to
be
positive
at
the
CDC.
C
At
this
time
we
have
no
cases
of
kovat
19
in
Buncombe
County.
There
are
several
people
who
are
under
investigation
who
have
been
tested
for
Ovid
19
in
the
county,
and
we
in
public
health
are
working
closely
with
our
local
medical
community,
including
Mission
Hospital,
and
making
sure
that
those
people
are
being
managed
appropriately
and
that
there
is
no
risk
of
exposure
to
anyone
else
in
the
community.
C
If
you
are
not
critically
ill
and
you
have
a
primary
care
provider,
please
call
that
primary
care
provider
before
you
show
up
at
their
office
call
them
so
that
they
can
screen
you
over
the
phone
and
assess
the
situation.
They
will
then
reach
out
to
us
in
public
health
for
additional
guidance
if
necessary,
so
that
we
can
make
sure
that
we
are
managing
your
care
appropriately
and
not
potentially
exposing
others
to
infection.
C
If
you
do
not
have
a
primary
care
provider,
one
option
would
be
to
call
and
urgent
care
and
again
have
them
assess
you.
The
other
option
is
to
call
us
at
the
Buncombe
County,
Health
and
Human
Services.
Our
communicable
disease
nurses
can
help
again
assess
the
situation
and
determine
the
best
course
of
action
to
reach
our
communicable
disease
nurses.
The
phone
number
is
eight
two,
eight
two:
five
zero:
five
one:
zero
nine
and
we're
having
a
very
high
volume
of
calls.
You
can
imagine.
C
Medical
providers
are
reaching
out
to
us
and
so
I
ask
that
the
public
only
use
that
phone
number
if
necessary.
If
you
don't
have
a
physician
that
you
can
see
you're
unable
to
get
to
in
contact
with
an
urgent
care,
then
then
call
that
number
but
we're
trying
to
enable
our
chemicals,
these
nurses
to
do
the
work
they
need
to
do
and
be
assured
that
we
will
notify
the
public.
E
When
the
governor
made
the
announcement
yesterday
about
a
state
of
emergency
for
the
state,
it
prompted
us
to
then
looked
at
ourselves
at
a
county
and
how
do
we
start
preparing
a
pre
positioning
ourselves
to
make
sure
with
the
pared
for
the
community?
So
today
we've
asked
the
chairman
of
our
Board
of
Commissioners
of
running
Eamon
to
sign
a
declaration
of
state
of
an
emergency
for
our
community.
E
F
Thank
you,
Burrell
I'd
like
to
acknowledge
some
of
the
other
elected
officials
that
are
here
with
us
as
well.
We
have
the
mayor
of
Asheville
Esther
manheimer
with
this
mayor,
thank
you
for
being
here
and
then
from
the
County
Commission
vice-chair
jasmine
Beach
for
our
out
Whitesides
and
Amanda
Edwards.
Thank
you
all
for
being
here.
F
F
Whereas
code
19
is
a
respiratory
disease
that
can
result
in
serious
illness
or
death
by
the
Czar's
coded
to
virus,
which
is
a
new
strain
of
corona
virus
previously
unidentified
in
humans,
which
can
spread
from
person
to
person,
whereas
in
response
to
the
global
spread
of
the
virus
and
the
disease,
it
causes.
The
World
Health
Organization
has
declared
hope,
19
a
public
health
emergency
of
international
concern.
The
Centers
for
Disease
Control
Board
is
ease.
F
Dhhs
arrangements
must
be
made
immediately
to
take
such
actions
as
are
deemed
necessary
and
appropriate
to
ensure
that
koban
19
remains
controlled
and
that
residents
and
visitors
in
Buncombe
County
remain
safe
and
secure.
Now,
therefore,
pursuant
to
the
authority
contained
in
chapter
21,
Buncombe
County
Code
of
Ordinances,
an
article
1a
of
north
carolina
general
statute,
chapter
166,
a
the
Board
of
Commissioners,
hereby
declare
local
state
of
emergency
for
Buncombe
County,
beginning
beginning
upon
adoption
of
this
declaration
and
shall
remain
in
effect
until
rescinded.
F
By
and
with
the
consent
of
the
mayors
and
municipalities
within
Buncombe
County.
This
declaration
of
local
state
of
emergency
applies
within
the
municipal
limits
of
the
city
of
Asheville.
Countably,
available
counted
would
have
been
counted:
black
mountain
town
of
Montreat
and
the
town
of
the
forest.
It's
further
declared
that
the
emergency
management
plan
adopted
by
Buncombe
County
and
that
all
applicable
mutual
assistance,
compacts
and
agreements
are
in
effect
and
shall
remain
in
effect
until
this
declaration
expires
or
is
rescinded.
F
All
emergency
management
and
health
and
medical
services
personnel
are
hereby
ordered
to
cooperate
and
implement
a
of
the
provisions
of
the
county's
emergency
management
plan.
We
direct
that
copies
of
this
declaration
be
disseminated
to
the
mass
communications
media
for
publication
and
broadcast
and
that
a
copy
of
this
declaration
be
posted
at
the
County
Courthouse
and
other
public
buildings,
as
appropriate,
adopted
this
12th
day
of
March
2020,
so
I'm
going
to
sign
it.
F
And
just
to
make
a
couple
of
remarks
about
this,
several
people
have
asked
what
you
know.
What's
the
real
purpose
of
signing
this
local
emergency
declaration,
there's
three
things
I
would
point
to.
First.
This
declaration
makes
Buncombe
County
and
municipalities
with
in
Buncombe
County
eligible
for
state
and
federal
resources,
as
they
become
available
to
help
address
the
koba
19
issues
a
second.
F
We
think
it's
very
important
to
just
send
a
clear
message
to
our
community
that
this
is
a
serious
public
health
concern,
but
that
there
are
practical
and
effective
steps
that
we
can
all
take
as
individuals,
families,
businesses,
local
government
and
organizations
that
can
reduce
the
spread
of
code
19.
The
message
that
I
would
send
is
that
I
urge
all
members
of
this
community
to
avoid
public
gatherings
that
are
not
essential
at
this
time
from
other
parts
of
the
world,
I've
been
wrestling
with
this
for
longer
than
we
have.
F
We
know
that
taking
this
step
is
one
of
the
most
effective
things
that
we
can
do
to
slow
and
prevent
the
spread
of
this
illness,
which
will
help
more
people
from
getting
sick.
And
finally,
it
allows
all
units
of
local
government
here
in
Asheville,
in
Buncombe
County,
to
work
together
in
a
coordinated
fashion
and
to
speak
with
one
voice.
So
thank
you
all
for
being
here
today
and
who's
next.
Okay,.
E
So
before
I
turn
it
back
over
and
Taylor
I'll
start
off,
and
then
you
can
jump
in
here.
If
you
don't
mind,
as
he
mentioned
earlier,
the
county
has
also
decided
today
to
look
at
a
partial
activation
of
our
Emergency
Operations
Center.
That
means
that
we
would
be
looking
at
our
leaders
across
our
community
to
join
us
on
a
daily
basis
to
start
monitoring
and
preparing
our
community
for
Kove
at
19.
E
We
are
very,
very
engaged
each
day
talking
to
each
other
and
we
want
to
have
that
in
the
same
space.
So
we
are
going
to
open
up
our
EOC
and
activate
that
and
what
that
means
for
us
and
I'll.
Let
Taylor
emergency
manager,
services
director
talk
about
that
in
all
of
it,
but
we
intend
to
have
our
school
systems
our
Red
Cross,
our
Asheville,
all
of
our
municipalities
as
well
in
that
room.
So
we
can
make
decisions
as
it
impacts
our
community.
We
can
be
prepared
to
do
that.
D
D
To
ensure
that
our
community,
you
know,
gets
the
best
level
of
care
across
all
levels
of
discipline
in
the
community,
whether
that's
emergency
services,
on
capabilities,
looking
at
being
able
to
respond
to
those
needs
immediately.
You
know
and
have
flexibility
on
during
this
crisis,
to
do
things
a
little
different
than
we
normally
do.
So
one
of
these
things
that
we're
looking
at
different
is
how
we
respond
to
sick
calls
so
folks
calling
in-
and
they
have
basically
chills
fever,
respiratory
symptoms,
things
that
meet
the
manifestations
of
flu
or
get
19.
D
It's
just
sending
an
ambulance
out.
We're
gonna,
send
our
community
paramedics
I'll,
reduce
our
exposure
in
our
community
and
look
at
what
kind
of
home
care
initiative.
We
can
do
we're
doing
this
and
in
junction
with
our
public
health
partners
and
with
our
medical
direction
with
our
medical
director
here
with
Buncombe
County.
D
There's
a
lot
of
what
we
do
in
emergency
management
is
terminal
risk
and
vulnerability
to
our
community,
so
that
takes
pulling
all
that
partnerships
together
from
all
our
community
partners,
such
as
the
Red
Cross,
the
manna
food
groups.
You
know
looking
at
feet-
and
you
know
kids
afterwards
talking
with
that
the
school
districts
on
folks
that
may
not
have
opportunities
to
have
access
to
food
daily.
D
G
We
recognize
our
role
as
the
tertiary
and
quarternary
care
provider
for
the
entire
Western
North
Carolina
community,
and
it's
I
just
want
to
start
by
saying
it's
a
privilege
to
be
able
to
work
and
partner
with
the
representatives
that
we
have
here
from
the
city
in
the
county
and
our
Emergency
Preparedness
partners.
A
couple
of
things
I
want
to
address
off
the
bat,
some
of
which
has
already
been
been
said,
is
that
there
have
been
rumors
going
that
we
have
identified
cases
so
far.
Patients
who
have
been
infected-
that's
not
the
case
at
this
point.
G
In
time
we
have
had
a
number
of
people
who
qualify
as
PU
eyes
to
use
the
colloquialism
persons
under
investigation.
None
of
them
have
proven
to
test
positive
at
this
point
in
time,
so
that
rumor
needs
to
be
out
there.
That's
not
to
say
that
we
won't
see
this
illness
in
our
community.
We
fully
expect
to
see
this.
G
That's
why
we've
declared
a
state
of
emergency
and
why
we're
preparing
today,
and
why
we're
partnering
together
to
spread
what
we
hope
are
to
prevent
the
spread
of
what
we
know
will
be
an
illness
that
comes
to
our
community.
We've
taken
a
host
of
specific
measures
across
the
hospitals
in
our
health
system
and
there
are
seven
different
member
hospitals
which
include
many
of
you
are
aware
of
some
visitation
restrictions
there
minor
at
this
point
in
time.
G
We
are
screening
all
the
people
who
went
to
our
facilities,
both
in
our
practices
and
in
our
hospitals,
to
assess
them
for
symptoms
of
coughs
of
breath
and
fever.
Those
are
the
hallmark
findings
of
this
illness.
We
also
screen
for
a
travel
history
and
then,
when
we're
encouraging
those
who
are
sick,
unless
it's
a
really
dire
situation
for
their
family
member
and
our
hospitals,
not
that
not
to
come
to
the
hospital
and
expose
themselves
to
potential
illness
or
expose
others
to
that
illness.
So
that
has
taken
place.
G
We
have
not
implemented
any
more
strict
visitation
restrictions
at
this
point
time,
but
that
may
happen
in
the
future
depending
upon
how
things
go
and
that's
for
the
protection
of
our
community.
So
we
want
to
make
sure
that
people
realize
why
that
would
happen.
If
it
would
happen,
we
are
actively
planning
both
to
help
prevent
this
across
counties.
I
had
a
phone
call
this
morning
with
dr.
David
Ellis
who's,
the
chief
medical
officer
at
Party
and
with
dr.
Theresa
Hebert
Herbert.
G
Excuse
me
with
Advent
Health
System
in
in
Fletcher
and
with
Steve
Smith
who's,
the
Health
Director
in
Henderson
County
and
dr.
Mullen
door.
We
we
have
a
weekly
call
set
up
so
that
we're
courting
up
coordinating
efforts
outside
that
which
is
happening
here
and
I.
Want
you
to
be
aware
of
that,
and
we're
specifically
focusing
on
that
group,
but
looking
at
the
skilled
nursing
facilities
and
how
we
can
protect
that
most
highly
vulnerable
patient
population
that
were
it
we
to
have
a
situation
similar.
G
What
happened
in
Washington
State
can
really
be
a
challenge
for
us
and
then
last
but
not
least,
I
want
to
emphasize
that,
in
addition
to
these
preventive
measures
that
we're
all
partnering
to
do,
we
are
gearing
up
to
be
ready
for
a
surge
if
it's
necessary,
we're
blessed
in
this
community
to
have
a
facility
like
Mission
Health.
The
capacity
of
that
institution
is
unbelievable.
The
technology
in
there
is
beyond
compare
and,
most
importantly,
the
world-class
care
delivered
by
the
physicians
and
the
compassionate
nurses
that
we're
blessed
to
have
in
our
community.
G
C
G
H
C
And
so
for
testing
through
the
state
lab
of
Public
Health,
there
are
maybe
more
stricter
criteria,
but
the
the
what
has
opened
up
has
been
that
if
you
have
fever
and
lower
respiratory
symptoms,
which
means
call
for
shortness
of
breath-
and
you
have
a
negative
flu
test-
could
be
a
rapid
flu
test
or
it
could
be
a
PCR
test.
Those
people
can
be
tested
for
Coke
in
nineteen,
so
that
that
was
a
game-changer
that
really
opened
up
testing
and
that's
testing
that
can
be
done
by
our
committee.
H
G
G
J
K
I
C
They
can
come
through
different
routes
right,
so
it
could
be
that
EMS
transport,
the
patient
to
Mission
Hospital.
It
could
be
that
a
provider
calls
us
and
says
hey.
We
have
a
patient
or
it
could
be
that
we
identify
a
patient,
a
person.
Testing
is
done
and
we
give
guidance
based
on
the
potential
that
that
person
is
infected.
We
we
issue
guidance
on
them.
Staying
away
from
other
people
that
make
sorry
I,
didn't
even
I
didn't
do
it
I
even
wrote
here.
A
repeat:
question
I
was
writing
that.
C
G
Let
me
just
amplifying
that
one
one
bit
one
of
the
benefits
of
being
part
of
a
large
healthcare
organization
like
we
are
now
with
our
recent
affiliation,
is
that
we
have
185
hospitals
across
the
country.
Unfortunately,
for
them,
many
of
those
hospitals
have
a
much
greater
experience
with
sick
patients.
G
We
have
hospitals
in
Florida
and
in
the
Far
West
who
have
experienced
that,
and
they
have
extensive
experience
in
these
in
their
communities,
we're
going
to
tap
into
that
and
collaborate
and
cooperate
across
all
the
healthcare
providers
here,
to
make
sure
that
we
don't
do
unnecessary
duplication
of
services
that
we
have
a
coordinated
effort
to
make
this
rollout
well
for
the
community
when
it's
necessary.
Fortunately,
right
now,
it's
not
necessary,
but
now
it's
the
time
to
prepare.
C
So
this
is
dr.
Mullen
door
again,
so
I
have
shared
guidance
with
the
the
Sheriff's
Department.
The
leaders
who
manage
the
jail
guidance
from
the
state
guidance
from
what
they're
doing
in
other
states
that
are
more
highly
impacted,
they've,
been
working
on
their
their
plans,
their
preparedness
plans
looking
at
how
how
they
would
manage
if
a
case
or
a
person
under
investigation
popped
up
within
their
population
talked
about
visitor
restriction.
So
there's
active,
ongoing,
again
planning
preparedness
response.
H
C
C
We
have
to
remember
the
the
impact
that
closing
a
school
would
have
on
the
community
right.
Where
are
those
children
going
to
go
right,
and
we
also
have
to
remember
that
the
highest
risk
population
for
this
infection
is
again
people
who
are
over
the
age
of
65
people
with
high-risk
underlying
medical
conditions
and
weakened
immune
systems?
Right,
and
so
we've
been
in
discussion
with
the
schools
from
the
very
beginning
and
they
have
done
a
great
job.
C
At
this
point,
you
know
I
think
we're
we're
going
to
push
out
messaging
through
the
schools
tomorrow
for
for
two
parents
again
encouraging
them
to
prepare
for
the
potential
and
really
want
the
parents
and
guardians
of
high-risk
children
to
to
consider
that
that
that's
the
population
within
the
schools
that
we're
most
worried
about
right,
and
so
maybe
those
children
need
alternative
learning
situations
right
now.
Maybe
they
parents
of
those
children
need
to
bring
them
home.
I'd.
A
Like
to
speak
a
little
bit
about
the
coordination
going
on
between
Buncombe
County
government,
particularly
Public
Health
and
the
school
systems,
so
we
are
very
closely
communicating
with
both
Buncombe
County
Schools
Asheville,
City,
Schools,
County
charter
schools
in
higher
education,
a
BTEC
monetary
College
and
any
educational
source
in
the
community.
We
had
several
mediums
just
today
alone
to
address
this
issue.
It's
an
ongoing
conversation.
G
G
While
it
certainly
can't
infect
children,
they
seem
to
be
less
affected
in
terms
of
severity
of
illness,
which
is
really
fantastic.
I
mean
that's
that
that's
wonderful
in
and
of
itself
where
in
fact
earlier
this
week
and
I
don't
know
if
this
is
Chan.
I
had
heard
that
in
the
Chinese
population,
no
one
less
than
age
29
had
died
of
the
disease.
G
So
it's
clearly
different
in
that
population
versus
the
older
population,
where
we
worry
about
children
is
their
ability
to
help
propagate
the
disease
throughout
the
community,
and
so,
if
we
did
do
that,
I
think
it's
important
to
recognize
that
that's
a
preventive
health
measure,
more
so
than
it
is
a
public
preventive
health
measure
more
than
it
is
to
protect
individual
children.
Although
both
are
critically
important
and.
C
And
again,
the
schools
are
making
plans
so
that,
if
you
know
that
when
children
are
in
school,
then
do
they
have
access
to
food.
So,
like
know
that
these
preparations
are
happening,
those
schools
are
working
very
closely
with
their
staff
and
partners
in
the
community
to
make
sure
that
they're
prepared.
If
we
ever
get
to
that
point,.
A
Yeah,
so
the
question
was
how
we
handling
the
homeless
population
and
tourists.
So
one
is
you,
you
know
if
we
have
a
person
under
investigation,
our
initial
inclination
is,
you
always
want
to
have
them
isolate
in
quarantine
in
their
home.
It's
it's
easy
and
it's
very
comfortable
for
them.
There
are
certain
populations
that
that
might
not
be
a
good
option.
A
One
is
for
people
experiencing
homelessness,
another
is
for
tourists
who
maybe
don't
have
the
finances
or
the
ability
to
extend
a
hotel
stay,
and
then
we
also
have
people
who
have
homes
but
first,
for
whatever
reason
they
it's
not
supportive
of
isolation,
quarantine.
Maybe
they
have
vulnerable
family
members
living
with
them.
Maybe
they
have
shared
spaces,
so
we
are
pursuing.
A
We
were
engaging
in
constant
conversation
with
community
partners,
hotels
around
the
area.
She
provides
provide
support
for
that.
So
we're
we
want
to
make
sure
that
those
people
who
don't
have
resources
in
a
place
to
isolate
in
quarantine
will
provide
that
for
them
to
make
sure
they're
not
in
the
community
and
may
give
them
a
warm
safe,
comfortable
place
to
be
that
duration
and.
C
I
would
also
say
this
is
dr..
Mulder
I'd
also
say
that
we
are
in
communication
with
those
service
providers
right
so
providers
who
serve
the
serve
persons
who
are
experiencing
homelessness,
and
we
have
also
pushed
out
information
to
local
hotels
and
and
other
employers,
businesses
and
our
community
I.
F
So
if
there
are
additional
resources
needed
for
things
that
were
not
already
in
the
county's
budget
before
we
knew
we'd
be
facing
this
issue
this
year,
there
will
be
resources
available
so
that
we
can
do
things
that
were
not
already
perforating
the
budget
as
needed
to
address
things
like,
like
the
question
around
how
we
can
provide
shelter
for
folks
who
may
not
be
able
to
they
may
not
have
a
personal
resources
to
those
kind
of
facilities.
At
this
time.
B
A
A
A
This
is
a
rapidly
evolving
situation
and
if
we're
going
to
have
more
media
availability
as
more
than
once
a
week,
we're
having
that
discussion,
we
this
Monday,
was
sort
of
a
joint
information
center,
and
so
we
have
more
capacity
to
respond
to
requests.
That's
a
conversation
we're
having
keep
in
mind
that
we
have
capacity
issues.
You
know
we
are
responding
to
this
right
now.
This
media
availability
is
part
of
our
planning,
a
response
activities
and
we
have
to
have
to
have
that
response
globally.
So
we
will
look
at
that
for
more
options.
A
So
the
question
is
what
we're
doing
on
prohibiting
large
gatherings.
We
are
anticipating
from
governor
Cooper
later
today,
some
guidance
on
mitigating
factors
for
the
communities
specifically
for
mass
gatherings.
We
don't
have
the
details
of
that
yet,
but,
as
we
stand
up
our
state
of
emergency
and
our
merger
operation
centers,
we
will
be
pushing
specific
guidance
for
the
community
for
mass
gatherings.
A
The
question
is
what
our
plans
to
reach
the
community,
who
are
not
native
English
speakers,
so
as
part
of
the
joint
information
center
we
stood
up.
We
have
a
special
team
assigned
in
there
for
accessibility
to
include
non-native
speakers
or
deaf
and
hard-of-hearing.
As
you
can
tell,
we
have
ASL
translator
here
with
us.
Today
we
have
a
team
doing
translations.
So
all
the
guidance
we're
pushing
will
be
coming
out
in
English
and
Spanish,
and
we're
working
for
resources
to
create
videos
for
the
deaf
and
hard-of-hearing
working
very
closely
with
that
State
Institute.
A
H
G
You
can
expect
that
with
wider
spread
availability
of
the
testing
that
that
the
numbers
of
PU
eyes
or
patients,
persons
under
investigation
is
going
to
climb
significantly
across
the
region
in
the
next
number
of
days,
and
it's
not
a
reflection
of
anything
meaning,
there's
wider
spread
because
we're
just
being
or
the
Brooke
the
blanket
is
being
spread,
broader
and
over
whom
we're
trying
to
take
care
of,
and
so
we
just
want
to
make
sure
that
we
were
investigating
as
much
as
possible.
At
that
point
in
time,.
H
G
As
I
mentioned
earlier,
within
our
facility,
we
have
three
or
our
facilities
at
this
point
in
time
we
have
three
or
four,
it's
increasing
daily,
so
by
the
end
of
the
day,
will
be
more
than
of
people
who
have
tests
pending
that
turnaround.
Time
on
the
test
at
this
point
in
time
is
three
to
four
sometimes
longer
days,
so
it
takes
well
for
us
to
get
those
tests
back
before
we
can
rule
those
patients
have
that
help.
C
I
would
have
to
ask
them
directly.
I
have
heard
I
can
say,
I
have
heard
from
one
provider
who
does
use
Quest
and
he
does
have
test
kids
and
then
I've
heard
from
other
providers.
I've
heard
from
other
providers
that
they
were
not
able
to
get
that
kid.
So
I
I,
don't
again
I
I
have
providers
are
reaching
out
to
the
commercial
labs
themselves.