After the first-ever teleconferencing meeting involving San Benito County, Hollister and San Juan Bautista City Councils, Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital, the Health & Human Services Agency, and school district superintendents March 16, there were two main takeaways.
First, should the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) suddenly accelerate in the county, there are fewer than two dozen beds and six respirators at Hazel Hawkins to accommodate those who are determined to be sick enough to be hospitalized. There are also not enough healthcare professionals to handle a major outbreak.
Secondly, many of the elected leaders in the room, as well as health and human services, had an issue with Hollister Mayor Ignacio Velazquez’s announcement on Facebook that he had asked the city manager to approve a “shelter in place” order, similar to that passed by seven counties in the Bay Area, as well as the city of Berkeley.
Several questioned what the concept means, how it would be enforced and by whom, and what the financial impact would be on the city’s business community, which is made up of mostly small businesses. The supervisors agreed to discuss the matter further in closed session, but made it clear that the COVID-19 pandemic was not a political issue, and no one should be in a race to get their message out first.
Before going to closed session, county supervisors approved the hiring of a temporary public information officer to help with messaging, and $1 million to assist in costs associated with the pandemic throughout the county, including the two cities.
BenitoLink will have an in-depth story on the meeting March 17.
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