San Bernardino County announces formation of COVID-19 Recovery Coalition

San Bernardino County is beginning the early stages of the recovery process when the coronavirus pandemic ends. On Monday, officials announced the creation of the San Bernardino County COVID-19 Recovery Coalition.

Get the latest local updates at KESQ.com/Coronavirus

Board of Supervisors Chairman Curt Hagman will lead the coalition, which will include partners from government, private-sector and community throughout the county.

"The impacts of this pandemic are already deep and far-reaching in terms of our local economy, government resources, and the basic structure of our society," Hagman said. "The sooner we start talking about what recovery and our post-COVID-19 county looks like, even while coping with the crisis itself, the stronger and more enduring our recovery will be."

The coalition will also include the leadership of the county's Economic Development and Workforce Development departments and the Community Development and Housing Agency.

"The focus of the coalition will be to begin a dialogue about recovery efforts and best practices toward dealing with the current COVID-19 crisis and moving our county towards recovery," Hagman said.

It will eventually encompass public- and private-sector partners in the following areas:

• Transportation/Logistics
• Healthcare
• The Faith Community
• Retail
• Manufacturing
• Government
• Education
• Hospitality
• Tourism

The process for selecting members of the coalition will be announced at a future date.

Hagman says the early discussions about recovery does not mean people should ease off on efforts to control the spread of the coronavirus.

"We have not yet seen the worst," Hagman said. "We must still stay at home when we can and take serious precautions when we have to go out by covering our faces as needed, washing our hands often, and maintaining social distancing. Backing off now will cause more people to become infected, more people to get gravely ill, and strain our healthcare system beyond capacity."

San Bernardino has 997 positive cases and 31 deaths with 9,358 patients tested as of Monday, April 13.

For more information on the county's coronavirus response or more on how to get tested, visit http://wp.sbcounty.gov/dph/coronavirus/

Stay with News Channel 3 for continuing coverage.