Demand Supervisor Steel Allow a Vote to Protect Essential Workers Health
Michelle Steel, Chair, Orange County Board of Supervisors
ANNOUNCEMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY
We are in the midst of a public health emergency from the COVID-19 Pandemic. Orange County's residents are at significant risk of infection due to community spread. Because of extremely limited testing countywide, the official tally of coronavirus cases likely doesn’t show the true spread among Orange County’s nearly 3.2 million residents. OC Public health officials have said doctors are only ordering swabs for patients who are showing prominent COVID-19 symptoms or are at high risk due to very limited resources. To protect the population, CDC guidelines are to wear face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies) especially in areas of significant community-based transmission. Orange County is such a place.
Petition by
To:
Michelle Steel, Chair, Orange County Board of Supervisors
From:
[Your Name]
OC Supervisor Michelle Steel:
You must allow a vote to order face coverings for all food service, grocery store, and other essential workers, many of whom are children under the age of 18, to stop the spread of COVID-19 in Orange County. OC needs to immediately come into alignment with ALL neighboring counties including Los Angeles, San Diego, and Riverside in protecting frontline essential workers and residents alike. While the economic costs are minimal, the human costs of inaction will be massive and result in infection, illness and death, detrimentally affecting our population. OC Supervisor Michelle Steel, you are being negligent in your duties by not allowing a motion to be heard and vote taken by the entire Board of Supervisors. An order must be issued to codify the action taken by Orange County Health Officer Dr. Nichole Quick, MD, MPH, in accordance with CA Health and Safety Code.