Oceanside's Left Coast announced the donation of 3,000 KN-95 masks for the city's COVID-19 response. These masks were donated to Oceanside's first responders, including paramedics, fire fighters, hospitals and police.
These first responders often arrive on the scene of emergencies not knowing whether they will interact with someone with coronavirus. In the midst of a nation-wide shortage of KN-95 masks, this donation is intended to help keep Oceanside's first responders safe.
The KN-95 mask is an important piece of personal protective equipment, often referred to as PPE, worn by medical staff. It helps protect both patient and doctor from cross-infection.
These masks have been in short supply during the coronavirus outbreak, which has seen more than a million cases world-wide.
"We wanted to give back to our community by using the resources we have," said Left Coast representative Alex Kometas. "We know that there has been a strain on systems that supply important medical supplies. We had a resource and we saw a way to help." These masks will help address a shortfall that is currently only growing worse. Data provided by Oceanside shows that the number of infections is increasing. This increase has been linear, not exponential so far, with 2 or 3 people confirmed with COVID-19 nearly each day since March 28.
In comparison, hot spots like New York City are seeing exponential growth, with the number of confirmed cases doubling over the last 6 days.
As of April 8, California has 18,830 confirmed coronavirus cases. Only New Jersey (44,416) and New York (138,773) have more, according to Johns Hopkins CSSE.
Governor Gavin Newsom has continued to provide statewide direction on a COVID-19 response. He first issued a state-wide stay at home order on March 19th. On April 1st he signed a bill expediting the provision of funding to front-line defenses against the spread of the virus. On April 2nd, he used this authority to restrict water shutoffs to homes. Orders like these demonstrate his awareness of the massive scope of the crisis. Many Californians, whether infected or not, are losing their jobs and benefits and will not be able to pay utilities, but will need access to life-sustaining resources.
The city of Oceanside reports 31 cases and 2 deaths from COVID-19 on their coronavirus website as of April 8. Oceanside Mayor Peter Weiss has issued a letter summarizing Oceanside City Council's response. Council has issued an emergency declaration to free up resources, banned evictions, and taken a host of smaller measures such as cancelling tickets for street sweeping parking violations.
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