County terminates COVID-19 state of emergency

Last Tuesday San Bernardino County’s Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to terminate a nearly two-year-old local coronavirus public health emergency.

That action ended the authority granted to the Chief Executive Officer to make emergency procurement and staffing decisions but preserve the ability of first responders to support the emergency medical system by transporting patients.

The county claims it is able to safely end the local state of emergency due to:

• COVID-19 case rates are dropping significantly within the county
• More than 3 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered among nearly 2.2 million county residents.
• Testing and vaccination operations supported by the state of emergency are winding down as the effects of the pandemic become more manageable

“COVID-19 is still with us, and we continue to encourage residents to be cautious and get vaccinated. What today’s actions signal is that we have progressed to the point where extraordinary emergency spending and resource-allocation powers are no longer necessary,” said Board of Supervisors Chairman Curt Hagman. “I join my fellow Board members in commending County employees and especially the residents of San Bernardino County for the hard work and courage they have invested in this fight.”

The Board then followed by declaring a new, more limited local state of emergency that deals with the county’s strained emergency medical system. First responders will be allowed to continue transporting patients using non-ambulance vehicles.

A declared emergency makes it easier for the county to get state and federal money, buy equipment and supplies and make other decisions more quickly.