West Orange County CERT (Community Emergency Response Team for Western Orange County California)

West Orange County CERT serves the Western Orange County CA communities of Seal Beach, Cypress, Los Alamitos, Rossmoor, La Palma, Buena Park, and Westminster,

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Update: Face Coverings & Masks

Update: Face Coverings & Masks

Both the CDC and State of California have said that face coverings can help slow the spread of COVID-19

Governor Gavin Newsom has repeatedly said face coverings can supplement but not replace such behaviors such as staying at home, maintaining physical distance and hand washing. State health officials have expressed concern the masks could lull people into a false sense of security and cause them to avoid more critical distancing behaviors. They also remain worried that residents may try to obtain N95 or surgical masks as hospitals struggle to find enough for their workers.

Newsom has repeated:

We have been very clear that if you are going into an environment where physical distancing is all but impossible — for example, into a grocery store with small aisles and a long queue — that we do believe it would be additive and beneficial to have a face cover”

A significant portion of individuals with Coronavirus lack symptoms (they are “asymptomatic”). Even those who eventually develop symptoms (“pre-symptomatic”) can transmit the virus to others before showing symptoms.

This means that the virus can spread between people interacting in close proximity—for example, speaking, coughing, or sneezing—even if those people are not exhibiting symptoms.

Therefore, CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where social distancing is not feasible.

Face Coverings

Face Coverings are loose-fitting, disposable devices and can be home-made. Face coverings should be used in public settings where social distancing is not feasible.

Face Coverings are loose-fitting, disposable devices and can be home-made. Face coverings should be used in public settings where social distancing is not feasible.

 

N-95 Filtering Facepiece Respirators

A standard (non-surgical) N95 Filtering Facepiece Respirator (FFR) will filter out at least 95% of very small (0.3 micron) airborne particles, including bacteria and viruses. (N means that the mask is not oil resistant). Photo below.

N95 Respirators are for first responders and health care providers who are caring for or contacting actual or suspected COVID-19 patients.

Additionally, the CDC has a page dedicated to question about PPE or Personal Protective Equipment

A N95 Face mask

 

March CERT Basic Academy Postponed

March CERT Basic Academy Postponed

Coronavirus Postpones March 2020 CERT Basic Academy
Coronavirus Outbreak Postpones March 2020 CERT Basic Academy

The Cities of Buena Park, Cypress, La Palma, Los Alamitos, Seal Beach, and Westminster had scheduled a 20-hour Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training academy at JFTB-Los Alamitos on March 20-28, 2020. Out of an abundance of caution, we are postponing this academy to a future date, which is to be determined.

The CDC recommends that older adults and other high risk individuals “limit close contact” and “avoid crowds as much as possible” during the COVID-19 outbreak. By postponing this non-essential gathering, we can reduce the risk to CERT participants and allow cities and emergency agencies to focus on their primary response missions.

We sincerely thank the Joint Forces Training Base, along with all who had expressed interest in this course. We could not conduct this high quality training academy and exercise without the help of our sponsoring cities, response agencies, instructors, and the volunteer members and leaders of our CERT Team.

You can read the full notice from the Team Coordinators here.

 

We do not yet have new Academy dates but will keep you advised here and via emails to our members.

 

Additionally, the Seal Beach Run on 3/28, the City of Anaheim Police & Fire Departments event on 4/2, and the Westminster Spring Festival on 4/4 have also been canceled. 

WOC CERT February Team Training & Pot Luck

WOC CERT February Team Training & Pot Luck

West Orange County CERT - February Team Training & Potluck
Los Alamitos Captain O’Connell welcomes the CERT Team

Our February Team Training & Potluck was full of fun and fellowship. Hosted in Los Alamitos at the Community Center, we were treated to some very tasty Pot Luck dishes ranging from home baked ham and onion rings to a number of salad offerings, fried chicken, and bite sized sandwiches and of course the more traditional pizza and the usual slew of tempting dessert offerings.

More than forty Team members that attended our meeting where we were welcomed to the City by Los Al PD Captain O’Connell and Emergency Services Coordinator Robert Acosta. It was great having such a good turn out for our first meeting of the year.

Our training presentation from SCART (SoCal Animal Recuse Team) was both interesting and thorough. Our thanks to Susan Keyes and the other presenters for educating us on our personal animal preparedness and how to assist in caring for pets in a disaster. If you want to be ready to assist with pet care following a disaster, feel free to reach out to SCART for training dates and additional information. And a huge thank you to Robin for arranging the presentation.

The rest of our event was all about the upcoming CERT Basic Academy and finalizing the class leaders, the Team members who will assist with the medical exercises and of course who will gt to wear the “red hats” during the final exercise. Our next Academy is at the end of March, so we have jsut a few weeks to get things set.

Our Academy events are a full team effort to get 50-60 area residents exposed to basic disaster preparedness for themselves and their family members. When we have the next major disaster event in Southern California it will be 3-5 days before our first responders will be able to get to our homes to assist. During those times, we will be on our own. Our family members. Our immediate neighbors. Our block. Are you prepared for that? What if you are at work when this disaster occurs? Will your family be able to care for themselves if you can get back home for days? These questions are at the core of the FEMA based CERT Basic Training. If you need a refresher or are just stopping by for a bit more information, click the red button at the top of this page to find out when our next CERT Basic Academy is.

Our next Team Training & Potluck will be on Wednesday April 8th at the Seal Beach Police Department.