Coronavirus: Union City Emergency Response, Update

UNION CITY, CA — Union City held a Disaster Council Meeting Wednesday to hear updates from participants in the city's disaster response to coronavirus.

Mayor Carol Dutra-Vernaci serves as the Disaster Council Chair, and sent this message to the community, “The City of Union City declared a local city emergency on March 16 in response to the CoronavirusPandemic and activated its Emergency Operations Center (EOC) the next day, in line with AlamedaCounty and many of our partner agencies. The EOC has allowed us to assess needs and expeditiously and efficiently connect resources to them as we have moved through this pandemic. Although, we talk daily with our agency partners on areas of coordination and information sharing, holding a Disaster Council meeting allowed the public to learn how each of us are rising to the occasion of serving the public during this very challenging time.”

The City has provided this summary of updates from the participants—

Union City Emergency Operations Center

The EOC was activated on March 17 and has focused on three main areas – (1) employee health,
safety and well-being, (2) communication to our community and (3) assessing community needs.
Highlights of activities include:
• Establishment of a pipeline for personal protective equipment for Police and Public Works
employees who remain essential workers during the Shelter-in-Place.
• City facilities are closed to the public and most City staff are working remotely.
• Deep cleaning and health check protocols are in place for employees that are reporting into
work facilities.
• A Joint Information Center is disseminating real-time information and resources on the City’s
website, UCTV Channel 15, the City’s social media pages and via the City’s email and text
subscriber network.
• Targeted outreach is being conducted to English as a Second Language persons, seniors,
undocumented persons, individuals and families at risk, recreation service customers,
businesses and other key stakeholders.
• A City Newsletter & Resource Handout has been delivered to every mailbox in the City; in
addition, to being handed out at food distribution sites, healthcare sites, social service
providers, and on transit buses.
• A community survey has been distributed to assess the impacts of the Coronavirus on
residents with 800 responses as of the time of the meeting.
• The City is working with its local partners to make sure that they have capacity should a
surge in needs, such as food distribution, expand with the Shelter-in-Place.
• The City’s CAREavan program is an official outreach participant in Alameda County’s
Project Room Key in an effort to house infected or symptomatic homeless during the
pandemic.

Union City Police Department

The mission of the Union City Police Department during the pandemic is to maintain quality
emergency services while protecting employees and those they serve. Various measures have
been taken to keep police officers healthy and free of exposure. Some of these mitigation efforts
include the implementation of an emergency staffing plan, a modified service model reducing
person to person contact, temperature checks of employees before their shifts, increased deep
cleaning of facility and vehicles, and requiring masks to be worn in the field and in the station.
Related to crime statistics, year to date there has been an overall 20% decrease in violent
crime, 9% increase in property crime, and a 19% increase in domestic violence and
general/family disturbances. The Police Department is facilitating the distribution of the
City’s Resource Handout during appropriate contacts and is also, publishing information on
Facebook and Nextdoor about how people can remain safe during the Shelter-in-Place.

Alameda County Office of Emergency Services

The Alameda County Office of Emergency Services (ACOES) is working in conjunction with the
County’s Healthcare Services Administration, Social Services Agency and Sheriff’s Department to
monitor the spread of the virus, establish appropriate Shelter-in-Place Orders, and provide resources to County residents and cities in need.

ACOES is working with the State of California to expand testing capacity throughout the County;
namely, through the opening of a 24/7 test site in June. ACOES reminds the public that the County
launched a public dashboard that contains information regarding number of Coronavirus cases and deaths; a food distribution map and a testing site list. The Alameda County Public Health Department is ramping up its capacity for contact tracing of the Coronavirus in Alameda County.

Alameda County Fire Department

An incident action plan is guiding the Alameda County Fire Department’s actions around safe
sanitation, virtual communication when possible, and eliminating the potential for cross
contamination across the multiple jurisdictions served. The Fire Department has played an
active role in Alameda County’s Emergency Operations Center helping to serve as an extension
of the cities it serves and connect cities to County resources as needed.

The Alameda County Fire Department’s recruit firefighters received training to assist with
COVID-19 testing throughout the County. The trained firefighters are available to assist with
COVID-19 testing at the direction of Alameda County’s Public Health Department. On May 1,
2020 they will deploy to assist with COVID 19 testing in the city of Oakland at Allen Temple
Baptist Church at 8501 International Blvd Oakland Ca, 94621.

Lastly, emergency medical service (EMS) calls county-wide were initially down in terms of
number of calls during the onset of the Shelter-in-Place; however, as of recent, EMS
calls have increased by 10%.

New Haven Unified School District

The New Haven Unified School District has remained closed since March 16 and continues to adapt to distance learning. While the School District continues to assess the technology needs of student households. In order to expand distance learning capabilities, thousands of Chrome books have been distributed to students as well as hundreds of hot spots for WIFI access . Since the Shelter-in-Place Order, over 46,000 meals have been distributed through its weekly lunch program for students in need.

Kaiser Permanente

Kaiser is now planning safety protocols to guide the reopening of several of its medical offices,
including Union City Medical Offices. Kaiser has acquired a warehouse in Alameda County, which is currently being converted to a testing site that can offer 24/7 testing. The site will have the capacity to conduct 10,000 tests per day, and is slated to be operational by June 1st. More details forthcoming.

Alameda County Water District

There has been no disruption to water service. District offices are closed to the public; however, health screening is in place for essential employees reporting into work. Essential infrastructure work continues with no disruptions.

Pacific, Gas & Electric (PG&E)

PG&E is maintaining continuity to ensure that gas and electric services to homes and critical
infrastructure is intact. The agency is networking with utility companies across the country to share and learn best practices as it relates to the pandemic. For those struggling with financial hardship, PG&E is ensuring no disconnects of utilities and is also offering programs to help those who are in a tough place due to the pandemic. PG&E is also providing donations of personal protection equipment and funds towards outreach, shelter and food.

Union Sanitary District

The Union Sanitary District – with service to the cities of Newark, Union City and Fremont - has taken steps to limit exposure to the public with many employees working remotely and safety procedures in place for critical infrastructure operators and collection system workers.

Union City Family Center

The Union City Family Center (UCFC) asks members of the public to go to to check online to learn about services being offered to those in need. Currently, the UCFC is providing families in need with a weekly grocery distribution thanks to the support of the Alameda County Food Bank, Centro de Servicios, and the Daily Bowl. In addition, they have a dry pantry available in case there is an emergency need for food. Hygiene and household supplies are also available, in addition to a monthly diaper distribution program. Residents can go to their website to sign up for the program.

Eden I&R 2-1-1

Eden I&R 211, the nonprofit information hotline for Alameda County, has experienced a 52%
increase in calls during Shelter-in-Place, with a wide variety of resource requests. 211
is coordinating with more than 1200 organizations in Alameda County to provide up-to-date
advice and referrals for those who use the 211 call and text service. Resources are also
available on their website, www.211alamedacounty.org.

Centro de Servicios

Centro de Servicios is currently operating with limited staff. All offices, as well as the community
store, are closed. Immigration, legal aid, and emergency services are on hold. Centro
de Servicios continues to provide food distribution Mondays through Fridays, from 10:00 am to
3:00 pm at 33570 6th St, with fresh produce and dairy products distributed on Tuesdays and
Thursdays during the aforementioned times. These distributions are made possible by generous
support from community partners and businesses, such as the Alameda County Food Bank,
Daily Bowl, Safeway, Walmart, and individual donors.

Union City Patch Coronavirus Page

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