Emergency operations center coordinating Carson City pandemic fight

The emergency operations center dealing with the coronavirus outbreak is looking for donations of needed personal protective equipment for medical workers.

The EOC, which serves Carson City and Douglas, Lyon and Storey counties, is working with the Salvation Army, which will accept the donations at its store at 3320 Research Way.

Jessica Rapp, public information officer for the EOC, said the area is experiencing the same shortage of PPEs seen nationwide, and Tom Raw, deputy emergency manager, told the Board of Supervisors last week that the EOC had one to two weeks of supplies on hand, but is working daily to acquire more.

That prompted Mayor Bob Crowell to ask for a daily update from the EOC on the amount of PPEs and tests for the coronavirus available.

This week Rapp said the EOC is working on providing that to the board and has decided not to make it available to the public.

The EOC puts out a release every day on the number of individuals in the quad-county area who have tested positive for the coronavirus as well as the number of those cases who have recovered from COVID-19, the disease it causes, and then tested negative for the virus.

The EOC was activated March 16 and is now operating out of the Community Center.

“The EOC streamlines communications, is the single point for resource ordering and requests, and provides the public information component,” said Rapp. “The EOC structure allows the health department to focus on the health portion of the response while coordinating the other aspects of an incident response.”

That includes ordering supplies at the request of fire departments and emergency medical services or EMS.

Personnel from Carson City and the three counties operate it and the counties fund it with anticipated reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for some costs.

For information on the EOC contact Rapp at jrapp@carson.org or 775-283-7536. For questions about COVID-19 or if you are experiencing symptoms, contact the COVID-19 Hotline at 775-283-4789.

In addition to PPEs, The Salvation Army is also accepting food donations for its Carson City food bank, the Douglas County Food Closet, the Healthy Communities Coalition in Lyon County, and the Community Chest in Storey County.

Needed Medical Supplies to Donate

• Disinfectant wipes

• Disposable gowns in original, unopened packaging

• Hand sanitizer

• Medical face shields in original, unopened packaging

• Medical gloves in original, unopened packaging

• N95 masks in original, unopened packing

• PAPRs (Powered Air Purifying Respirator)

• Safety glasses in original, unopened packaging

• Disposable shoe/boot covers in original, unopened packaging

• Surgical masks in original, unopened packaging

• Tyvek suits in original, unopened packaging