We in Orange County, including Carrboro, Chapel Hill and Hillsborough, are six months into our response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The community has responded well, doing what has been asked and what is needed to keep the community safe. From the stay-at-home order issued in March to the three Ws (wear a mask, wait 6 feet apart, wash your hands), the community has stepped up, and the numbers have shown it.
Now, we face a new challenge, as local numbers have jumped due to clusters on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus. We must meet this moment, and we will.
Because an end date isn’t yet in sight, it is more important than ever that the public understand how communities respond to a public health crisis. Orange County uses national best practices for managing disasters and emergencies. In March, county and town Emergency Operations Centers were activated to provide resource support to the community and coordination to effectively respond to the pandemic. This approach also enables us to request support from the state and federal governments. The EOC staff have worked around the clock to support the whole community’s response to the pandemic – from feeding to sheltering.
These countywide emergency protocols exist to streamline communication and translate the expertise of key players into action. Who are those key players?
Our pandemic response is led by County Health Director Quintana Stewart and County Emergency Services Director Dinah Jeffries. They and their teams bring expertise that is essential to effectively addressing the pandemic at the local level. Every week since March, the three mayors, the chair of the county commissioners and others meet to share information and help guide the countywide response.
We are so fortunate to have this group of professionals working together for an effective pandemic response. While COVID-19 may bring unprecedented challenges, those working in public health, emergency response and county and town management have trained and planned for crisis situations. They are ready to guide us through it, and it is important we listen to them and heed their guidance.
One thing the pandemic has laid bare is our mutual dependence on each other. To get to the other side of this crisis, we need everyone to do their part. We depend on our emergency response leaders to direct the response. We depend on our residents to practice the three Ws and follow our emergency orders. We depend on business owners to follow directives and guidelines from the state and the county.
Local elected officials also have a role to play. Each of us must support the work of the operational leadership team and make sure they have the resources they need. Decisions must be made based on the insight and knowledge of that team, best practices and what is within our legal authority. As elected officials, we all should use our public platform to amplify messages from the public health specialists, with the goals of consistency and clarity. Each time county leaders issue a new order, we carefully weigh whether adding or changing a rule will actually help efforts to control the pandemic or hinder efforts by creating confusion about what residents and businesses are supposed to do.
For us, our purpose is clear: lead by helping the public understand what they need to do, and let the local public health and emergency services professionals lead the way. Perhaps most important, your council members and commissioners are supporting town and county staff to ensure that basic municipal and social services continue to be delivered. And they are thinking and acting creatively to apply lessons from the past six months to manifest the equitable and thriving Orange County to which we all aspire.
