Wellington Q&A: The Village Updates Residents Regarding The Virus Pandemic
COVID-19 Response As our community begins to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, Wellington The Magazine invited Wellington officials to participate in a question-and-answer session regarding the village’s response to the virus emergency.
How did the Village of Wellington become informed about the possibility of a pandemic due to COVID-19? Wellington received notification through the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention health advisory on Jan. 9 of an outbreak in Wuhan, China. Since that notification, Village Emergency Operations staff has been closely monitoring the pandemic. Following Gov. Ron DeSantis’ issuance of Executive Order 20-51 on March 1, directing the Florida Department of Health to issue a public health emergency, Wellington activated its Emergency Operations Center with monitoring on March 4. Wellington’s call center activated its COVID-19 assistance information on March 16. Full EOC activation occurred when Wellington declared its Emergency Order Number 1 on March 26. “Once we became aware of the thread of the virus, the village began taking several steps to both be prepared to coordinate and communicate with county and state health officials, and ensure the health of our community and the continuity of critical operations of village government,” Wellington’s Director of Emergency Management and Public Safety Nicole Coates said.
What were the responses that the village took to address residents’ safety during the pandemic? Wellington activated its Emergency Operations Center and established an incident management structure to optimize the coordination of public health and safety strategies for village residents. The village’s response included preparation, prevention and mitigation strategies to limit the spread 44 july 2020 | wellington the magazine
of infection, such as canceling public gatherings and events. Officials evaluated critical services to maintain continuity of government, such as solid waste and wastewater operations. The village further ensured that all public facilities were sanitized in accordance with CDC guidelines and implemented an enhanced disinfection plan. Since early March, the village has been providing COVID-19 information and updates to residents and business owners. Wellington’s COVID-19 web pages and links provide extensive information regarding updates, videos and resources for residents, businesses and the equestrian community. “Keeping our residents informed is essential to minimize the health effects of a pandemic,” Village Manager Paul Schofield said. “The village’s public information office and call center have communicated measures that the public can take to minimize risk and decrease the spread of infection.”
How and when did the village decide to cancel public activities and shut municipal facilities? What criteria were used to determine when it was safe to re-open? During the week of March 9, the village started discussions on canceling programs and activities. To protect the most vulnerable populations, senior activities were canceled first. The Community Services Department reached out to all seniors who were signed up for upcoming programs and events and informed them of the cancellations. The Wellington Seniors Club helped by mailing out an emergency newsletter to let their members know about the cancellations of the programs and upcoming events. Soon after, all other programs and events were canceled. Updates were shared through social media, media releases, e-newsletters, e-mails to participants and information was shared on Wellington’s web site. The village continues to work closely with officials from the Florida Department of Health, Palm Beach County and the State of Florida to review