City urges social distancing; state's COVID-19 peak expected in two weeks

Palm Coast Observer
News

City officials in an April 7 City Council meeting — only a few of them actually in the council chambers, and those wearing face masks — urged residents to continue social distancing as Florida Department of Health-Flagler Administrator Bob Snyder said that the state's expected COVID-19 peak time is now expected to occur the week of April 21.

"When we heed these warnings, it's not because we're trying to be difficult; it's not because we're trying to be unsympathetic to our residents. We're doing everything possible to ensure that we get through this together."

— MILISSA HOLLAND, Palm Coast mayor, on COVID-19-relatd restrictions

Previous modeling from the University of Washington, which performs modeling for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the military, had initially predicted a peak in the first week of May.

The fact that the peak is expected to come earlier is a good thing, but it's a result of statewide and local mitigation efforts, Snyder said — not a reason to abandon them.

"We have to keep things going; we have to keep what we're doing at the top of our minds, top of awareness," he said, "and that's the extreme social distancing, no gatherings of more than 10 people, wearing our masks or bandanas or a scarf when we're out and about, good hand hygiene and disinfecting protocols at home and elsewhere."

Those variables could all combine to lead to 3,000 fewer hospitalizations in the state and 200 fewer ICU patients, he said.

Snyder noted that he state is now reporting COVID-19 cases by zip code on it COVID-19 Data and Surveillance Dashboard, at https://bit.ly/34kelhp.

The University of Washington model, visible at https://covid19.healthdata.org/united-states-of-america/florida, also predicts that April 21 will be the date on which the state has the highest number of COVID-19 deaths: It expects 242 on April 21, and 6,770 in Florida by Aug. 4.

Also at the April 7 meeting

Lehigh Trail restroom, parking approved

The City Council at its April 7 meeting unanimously approved a sublease agreement with the Flagler County government for the construction of restrooms and a parking area for the Lehigh Trail trailhead.

"The is a very critical project for our city," Mayor Milissa Holland said. "We currently have residents that are running across Belle Terre utilizing Lehigh Trailhead. ... It is essential that we get adequate parking, adequate restrooms for a highly utilized amenity for our residents."

Hundreds register for Virtual Town Hall meetings

Palm Coast's first Virtual Town Hall, hosted on Palm Coast Connect on April 1, had 354 recorded participants, and as of April 7, a total of 658 had registered to take part in the city's Virtual Town Hall scheduled for April 8, City Manager Matt Morton said.

Palm Coast Connect also saw a huge jump in webpage visits with the COVID-19 pandemic: from approximately 2,700 site visits the week of March 8-14, to 34,000 visits the week of March 15-21.

"This council's investment into Palm Coast Connect is paying dividends to us every day," Morton said.

Traffic camera agreement with FCSO tabled

The City Council tabled a proposed agreement with the Flagler County Sheriff's Office that would have added five new license plate readers in the city of Palm Coast — there are currently two — and would have allowed the law enforcement agency to access the city's traffic cameras.

The agreement would have let the agency record and keep footage, which the city doesn't currently do. But the proposed contract also included a clause that would have preempted to the FCSO the right to use the cameras for recording.

Councilman Bob Cuff questioned why the city would be barred under the proposed contract from using its own cameras for that purpose, and City Manager Matt Morton said he would look into it and report back to the council.

The model predicts an ICU bed shortage of 769 in the state: 2,464 ICU beds will be needed, but 1,695 are available, it shows. It does not predict a shortage of regular hospital beds.

LOCAL TESTING FACILITY PLANNED

The Florida Department of Health in Flagler County recently received 500 COVID-19 testing kits and expects to soon have a local drive-through testing facility, Snyder told the council.

"I'm not able to share details at the moment other than to say the plans are being tweaked and they are just about complete, and we are going to wait for the county to make an announcement as to the details," he said.

He noted that the county had tested 24 people the previous day.

The county has also worked to get local laboratory approved by the Health Department for COVID-19 tasing. The labs; turnaround time for tests is 24 hours or less, Snyder said.

MASK USE URGED

Experts are now estimating that 25-55% of carriers of COVID-19 are asymptomatic, and are urging residents to wear masks to keep themselves from unknowingly passing it to others.

"This would be for individuals who are out and about, maybe grocery shopping or need to pick up takeout," Snyder said. "Just when you're out and about, just be cognizant of the importance of wearing a mask."