CVAG holds special meeting remotely, Dr. Kaiser not enacting a valley-wide “shelter in place” order at this time
CVAG’s Executive Committee held a special meeting via video chat Thursday morning. Many valley leaders spoke and were present online.
Dr. Cameron Kaiser gave a status update: there are 897 confirmed cases of coronavirus in California and 17 deaths so far. There are 16 cases in Riverside County and 3 deaths alone in the Coachella Valley.
Kaiser again emphasized the need for more testing. He says the county just received 2,000 more tests. They expect more are on the way. “We have plans for appointment-free so called 'drive up' testing although I prefer the term community testing. We may be doing this in lots of settings not just drive up,” said Kaiser.
Kaiser says while he supports Palm Springs’ decision to "shelter in place," he doesn't believe it is necessary at this point in time to place all valley cities under a mandatory “shelter in place” order. “I don’t think I gain much from these orders and they may not be enforceable,” said Kaiser. He added, for the time being, that decision will be up to individual valley cities.
Many city mayors agreed that decisions should be made on a 'city by city' basis, as long as their regulations are in adherence with Kaiser's advice.
Dr. Raul Ruiz, on the other hand, says the valley needs a strict "unified social distancing policy.” Ruiz says that 30% of Coachella Valley is 60 or older and the valley has many that are high risk for the virus. We need to own that. Take responsibility for that. And act sooner than later,” he said.
The meeting concluded with most agreeing CVAG will be a platform for everyone to communicate in one place, but no official motion or statement on behalf of CVAG is necessary at this time.
