A message from Chair Corless | March 22, 2020
March 22, 2020
Hello, and thank you for taking the time to read this message.
We find ourselves in uncertain times, dealing with unprecedented circumstances.
Our community, like communities throughout the state, is reeling from the impacts caused by the Coronavirus pandemic. We are NOT immune.
As you may have heard, Mammoth Hospital has identified a patient who has tested positive for COVID-19. The patient is a local male in his 40’s who was hospitalized March 15, 2020. The positive COVID-19 lab result was received on March 21, 2020.
The patient was recognized as a suspect case on the day of admission to the hospital and has been in isolation. The Mono County Public Health Department has been identifying contacts of this patient and these individuals and these people are self-quarantining at home with health department supervision. The investigation and monitoring is ongoing, and we will provide updates when available.
We want to take a moment to let you know what Mono County, the Town of Mammoth Lakes, and our partners are doing to help keep you and your families safe and healthy during this time.
We also want to introduce and direct you to monohealth.com/coronavirus, the comprehensive county resource featuring the most current and accurate information related to COVID-19 and its impacts in Mono County.
A local Unified Command Structure has been established to effectively and efficiently address the COVID-19 pandemic locally. This means that local agencies such as Mono County and our Public Health Officer, the Town of Mammoth Lakes, and Mammoth Hospital are one team, working together to keep our community safe, to communicate important messages, and to provide community support services. The Unified Command team works around-the-clock to implement strategies that protect the health and safety of our community.
These strategies have led to a number of directives for our community that severely limit activity with the goal to reduce the spread of COVID-19. These directives include:
• The closure of all bars, breweries and wine-tasting venues in Mono County, excluding production facilities that do not include any customer or other public contact;
• The closure of all restaurants for indoor or outdoor seated dining, however, drive-through or other pick-up or delivery options is permissible;
• The closure of all bars, breweries and pubs that include full meals provided by a full kitchen shall follow restaurant guidance and may provide delivery or pick-up options;
• The restriction of coffee shops allowing pick-up/drive-thru service only;
• All pick up areas shall limit customer waiting areas to no more than 6 people, providing adequate space for six (6) feet of separation between waiting customers and provide for hand sanitation;
• The closure of health clubs and gyms;
• The closure of theaters, bowling alleys and other indoor recreations venues;
• The prohibition of all non-essential public gatherings or assemblies, regardless of size, and;
• The closure of all venues for gatherings.
We realize there has been some confusion around short term lodging facilities. Acting under the Governor’s “Stay At Home” Order and to reduce community spread of COVID-19, on March 21, the Public Health Officer issued an order stating that short-term lodging facilities (including hotels, motels, condominiums or other facilities) which are used for COVID-19 mitigation and containment measures, including measures to protect homeless populations, may ONLY continue to operate for this limited specific purpose.
Let us be clear – short-term rental facilities of any type in Mono County including the Town of Mammoth Lakes is prohibited, unless the facility is providing such mitigation and containment measures or used to house workers performing functions that are essential to maintain the continuity of operations for critical infrastructure. A detailed list of directives can be found on the Mono County COVID-19 web portal referenced earlier. This order, however, does not restrict or preclude the owner from staying in their own property.
In addition to the local directives, on March 19, Governor Gavin Newsom issued a statewide directive urging “all individuals living in the State of California to stay home or at their place of residence.” The Governor arrived at this “Stay At Home” directive as a result of data that shows a limited capacity of hospital beds should no action be taken to flatten the curve (reduce the projected number of people who will need hospital care). Mono County joins the Governor in this directive.
What you can do:
• Please stay home if you are ill. Get help if it seems serious but if it is mild stay home for one week and try to keep your distance from your family members. If you have a mask, wear it. Clean hands and surfaces often;
• You can go out to get food, medication and other necessary supplies, and;
• You can go outside to get exercise and fresh air—just be sure to practice social distancing (6 feet of separation) and keep out of harms way in an effort to preserve first responder resources.
Your strict participation in this Order is necessary to help flatten the curve, and free-up essential local resources for those who may end up needing it.
Our community has pulled together in the face of crisis before, and we will do that with COVID-19. It’s going to take all of us. We ask everyone to do their part toward the well-being of our community by following the statewide and local directives put into place, and by practicing best practices for hygiene and social distancing. WASH – COVER – DISTANCE!
Furthermore, we ask that you join us helping to spread the word about the Mono County Coronavirus portal: www.monohealth.com/coronavirus. This portal is updated daily.
You can also sign-up there to receive the daily bulletin via email. Another resource is Mono County’s 2-1-1 telephone information line.
We don’t know how long this will last, but it won’t be forever. There will most likely be additional positive cases, and that is why we are taking the “Stay At Home” Order extremely seriously.
Thank you for your concern and for your efforts to protect this community, and for meeting this moment with cooperation and kindness. We’re in this together.
In community,
Stacy Corless
Chair, Mono County Board of Supervisors
Bill Sauser
Mayor, Town of Mammoth Lakes
