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Omicron EOC deactivated, duties transitioned to health district

The Omicron Emergency Operations Center, stood up last month in response to the highly contagious COVID variant, was deactivated on Friday, Feb. 11.

The initial objectives established for the Emergency Operations Center, or EOC, have now been met, said Stephen Rinaldi, EOC manager and the Chelan County fire marshal. Among those objectives were monitoring for Omicron surges that may impact vital infrastructure in Chelan and Douglas counties and planning for, organizing and deploying resources where necessary.

“We were activated to monitor and evaluate the operations of our critical infrastructure in the two counties, to be able to respond quickly to a surge if it impacted our schools, utility providers, daycare and long-term care facilities, or health care systems,” Rinaldi said. “Community stakeholders have been able to maintain their services throughout the last four weeks without the need for additional support.”  

The EOC was activated on Jan. 18 at the Wenatchee Valley College and was expected to be in operation for four weeks.

In that time, stakeholders, which include representatives of each of the monitored groups, have established open lines of communication with the EOC, allowing staff to monitor and evaluate the day-to-day progress of Omicron through the community and its impacts on their daily operations, Rinaldi said. Confluence Health, for example, reported daily how many beds it had available and the number of staff sick, and the North Central Educational Services District reported impacts on classrooms and staff as well.

“Without this level of cooperation from the stakeholders, it would have been tough to complete our task,” Rinaldi said.

Stakeholders will now report directly to the Chelan-Douglas Health District’s Incident Management Team, established more than two years ago to oversee COVID vaccinations, testing and day-to-day operations of the pandemic.

“So the monitoring won’t stop,” Rinaldi explained. “It will just be transitioned over to the Incident Management Team.”

Last Updated: 02/14/2022 08:42 AM

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  • 18
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    Hearing Examiner - December 18, 2024

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    The Canvassing Board of Chelan County, pursuant to RCW 29A.60.160, will hold public meetings at the dates and times listed below. The meetings of the Canvassing Board are open, public meetings under the applicable provisions of chapter 42.30 RCW, and each meeting shall be continued until the activity for which the meeting is held has been completed.

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