Officials give COVID-19 update during special council meeting
EL CENTRO — For the second week in a row, no reports of price gouging on essential items have been made to the El Centro Police Department.
ECPD Chief Brian Johnson was pleased to announce this during the city of El Centro’s special COVID-19 meeting on Friday.
Johnson and other local officials provided a COVID-related update on behalf of their respective agencies before the El Centro City Council.
As a way to keep the community informed, the council has been holding these special meetings every Friday at the Council Chambers since the pandemic began.
During Friday’s meeting, Johnson was also pleased to announce that ECPD has only received one complaint over the past two weeks of social distancing not being followed at an essential business.
“I think we have recognized that our community has been listening,” he said. “Our business community and our residents are doing the things that they know they need to do to help lower the curve and help us get over this pandemic.”
He said the number of reports in reference to child abuse has been down, while there continues to be an uptick in reports of domestic violence.
“And we’re taking that very seriously,” he said.
Johnson said those who witness physical violence occurring should immediately call 911.
Those who suspect that domestic violence or child abuse is taking place in a household should call ECPD’s dispatch line at (760) 3522111 so that an officer can investigate.
During the meeting, El Centro Fire Department Fire Chief Kenneth Herbert explained that faith-based gatherings, such as a typical service on Sundays, are still not allowed under the current COVID-19 statewide guidelines.
However, if someone from a church is distributing food, or providing one-on-one or small group counseling, then that is considered essential and is allowed, he added.
For the local business community, owners who are unsure whether their business is considered essential may contact the city’s information line at (760) 337-4037, Herbert said.
El Centro Regional Medical Center Chief Executive Officer Dr. Adolphe Edward reported that the hospital currently has 144 positive COVID patients, 492 negative COVID patients and 20 tests are pending.
Twenty-three percent of the patients that ECRMC has tested have been positive, Edward said.
There are currently 11 COVID patients on ventilators being treated at the hospital.
On Friday, ECRMC received five ambulances from San Diego so it can “test” transport its patients out of the county.
This test was done so that if the number of COVID-19 patients continues to rise, then the hospital has a method of transferring some of its patients to other hospitals.
The hospital is still not conducting elective surgeries at this time, Edward said.
On Friday morning, the California Hospital Association sent a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom that urged the state to allocate $1 billion in economic relief to all hospitals, including ECRMC.
Edward said the seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the hospital’s revenues and its baseline.
“We’re not going to be able to continue financing the hospital the way that we are,” he said. “We’re seeing 50 percent decline in emergency room visits. We’re seeing a decline in our actual workload now converted to
COVID-19.”
Imperial County Public Health Director Janette Angulo reported that the OptumServe COVID-19 testing site at the IV Fairgrounds in Imperial is in operation.
It partially opened on Tuesday and was open for full operation on Wednesday.
The site currently conducts
132 tests a day; however, if the demand from the community is great enough, the site can be expanded to conduct more testing.
Angulo also reported the county continues to see the highest number of cases in the 20-to-29, 30to-39 and 40-to-49 age groups.
Through Friday, total cases in the county had hit 512, with 262 of those being still active. There was another death reported Friday, bringing the county total to 12.
With Mother’s Day being celebrated on Sunday, Angulo reminded residents to practice social distancing.
“Think about the potential consequences of mass gatherings,” she said. “Let’s celebrate Mom a different way. We want Mom for many years to come.”