Coronavirus “COVID-19” Community update | City of Port Hueneme Declares a Local State of Emergency

(PORT HUENEME, CA) In order to further protect our community, the City of Port Hueneme has declared a local state of emergency as a result of the increased spread of the COVID-19 virus. This is consistent with the most recent declarations submitted by the Ventura County Public Health Department and the President of the United States.

City Manager Brad Conners stated, “This Declaration will allow us to better protect our community and help prevent the spread of COVID-19. This local state of emergency will allow us to perform actions or impose policies that we could not normally undertake. We want our community to know we are taking this very seriously and we hope people begin to adjust their behavior to help us contain this virus”

By declaring a local state of emergency, the City of Port Hueneme will be able to:

• Seek state/federal reimbursement for extraordinary costs associated with the virus
• Impose emergency ordinances related to price gouging, hoarding, and curfews
• Expand the available immunities from liability for response-related activities
• Enact mutual aid agreements across the county and state
• Streamlines procedures for the procurement of emergency equipment and items

We continue to monitor developments which are evolving on a near hourly basis. The City of Port Hueneme is taking precautionary and responsible measures to limit the spread and impact in our community. Our priority is always the health and safety of our staff and the people we serve.  Our response plan has a set of triggers which activate our infectious disease outbreak plan. The most recent local and national declarations of emergency, along with the closure of local schools, has upgraded our response to this highly infectious virus. We are taking a proactive approach to minimize the potential exposure to our community and have upgraded our response in the following ways:

• City Council Meetings Closed to Public – Governor State Executive Order
• Routine Information Updates to Employees/Community
• Employing Social Distancing Plans
• All City Sponsored activities will be suspended until further notice (beach clean ups, recreation classes, museum speaker series)

• No Community Meetings or Events
• Local State of Emergency Declaration
• Employ Flexible Work Schedules and Telecommuting Options
• Suspend all out of county training and travel
• Museum and Recreation Center Closure

• City Hall hours may be reduced or altered

Community mitigation is a set of actions that persons and communities can take to help slow the spread of respiratory virus infections. Community mitigation is especially important before a vaccine or drug becomes widely available. The goals for using mitigation strategies in communities with local COVID-19 transmission are to slow the transmission of disease and in particular to protect individuals at increased risk for severe illness, including older adults and persons of any age with underlying health conditions as well as protect the healthcare and critical infrastructure workforces.

Community-based interventions such as school dismissals, event cancellations, social distancing, and creating employee plans to work remotely can help slow the spread of COVID-19.  

Decisions about the implementation of community measures and our response plan will be assessed daily by the City of Port Hueneme and County Officials, as appropriate, and will be based on the scope of the outbreak and the severity of the illness.  We will continue to keep our community informed on a regular basis.

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