Title
Adoption of an Urgency Uncodified Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Alameda (A) Declaring the Existence of a Local Emergency in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, and (B) Directing City Staff to Respond Appropriately to Such Local Emergency. (City Manager 2110)
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
THE COVID-19 pandemic is impacting communities around the world, including Alameda. Section 3-12 of the City Charter authorizes the City Council, with a 4/5 vote, to adopt, as an urgency measure, an ordinance for the immediate preservation of the public health or safety without following the procedures otherwise required prior to adoption of an ordinance. Government Code Section 36937 allows a city, including a charter city, to adopt an urgency ordinance to take effect immediately upon its adoption for the preservation of the public peace, health or safety upon a finding of facts constituting the urgency thereof. A declaration of a local emergency by City Council through an urgency ordinance will allow City staff to expeditiously respond to such emergency circumstances. As such, staff is recommending that City Council adopt an urgency uncodified ordinance declaring a local emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and directing staff to respond appropriately to such declaration through implementation of the measures described below.
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION
A novel coronavirus (named COVID-19 by the World Health Organization) was first detected in December 2019. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has stated that COVID-19 is a serious public health threat, based on current information. Cases of COVID-19 have been diagnosed throughout the world, the United States, the State of California, the County of Alameda and the City of Alameda.
The exact modes of transmission of COVID-19, the factors facilitating human to human transmission, the extent of asymptomatic viral shedding, the group...
Click here for full text