Local assistance center closed due to positive COVID case

Tulare County confirmed on Thursday one individual has tested positive for COVID-19 at the Local Assistance Center in Porterville at 1055 W. Henderson.

The assistance center for those affected by the Sequoia Complex will be closed from now through the rest of the weekend. The FEMA Mobile Registration Intake Center is also being closed from now through the weekend.

Tulare County and FEMA plan to re-open the assistance center and intake center on Monday, November 16 at a.m.

During the closure, victims of the Sequoia Complex fire who need a hard copy of the Right of Entry application can obtain a copy in the hallway at the 1055 W. Henderson location in Porterville, or at the Resource Management Permit Center at 5961 S. Mooney Blvd. in Visalia. The ROE application is also available on the recovery website at www.tularecounty.ca.gov/recovers. Those affected by the Sequoia Complex can also call the SQF Hotline at (559) 802-9790, or visit the recovery website at www. tularecounty.ca.gov/ recovers.

Tulare County is notifying all members of its workforce with whom the infected individual may have had potential contact, and has health protocols in place such as asking employees to report any symptoms that develop during office hours, maintaining social distancing, asking employees to work from home when possible, and consistently using thorough hygiene and cleaning practices.

In compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, Tulare County can’t release any other information about the affected employee. The information released about the positive COVID-19 cases in Tulare County is carefully curated to provide useful information to community members, while also excluding information that would lead to the identification of affected persons. This is a protection, provided by law, that’s extended to everyone.

For more information about COVID-19, visit www.covid19.tularecounty.ca.gov.