BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. – Broward County commissioners issued a state of emergency amid the growing concerns over coronavirus.
The Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in Plantation has been activated at Level 2, which is a partial activation.
This went into effect at noon on Tuesday.
There are three levels of EOC activation, with two obviously being the middle stage.
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Level three, the lowest, is a 'monitoring' phase.
Level two, the currently activation level, “may not require activation of every section, branch or Emergency Support Functions. All primary, or lead, Emergency Support Functions are notified. The State Emergency Operations Center will be staffed by Division of Emergency Management personnel and necessary Emergency Support Functions,” according to FloridaDisaster.org.
Level one includes a full scale activation of state emergency response teams.
This decision comes after the Florida Department of Health announced a fourth confirmed case of COVID-19 in Broward County.
Three of the four cases are associated with Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, with a connection to the company Metro Cruise Services, which operates out of the port.
Commissioners said they are discussing setting aside funds for public service announcements to inform residents and visitors of what they need to do to prevent themselves from contracting the virus.
Commissioners also discussed more frequent cleanings at county facilities, including libraries and buses. They are also urging taxi and Uber drivers to do the same.