OKEECHOBEE — The COVID-19 pandemic was again the primary topic of discussion at the Nov. 4 meeting of the Okeechobee County Commission. The continued focus on the pandemic was evidenced by the masks worn by those in attendance and the spraying of disinfectant on the podium between speakers, as well as the items on the agenda.

County Public Safety Officer Ralph Franklin asked for a continuation of the declaration of the Local State of Emergency (LSE) and added they may allow the LSE to sunset on Nov. 12. “That could be subject to any kind of change we see coming up,” he added.

“Also put it on your radar, we will see how things develop once the vaccination process gets here and starts; we will see if we have the need for an LSE then,” he said.

Commissioner Kelly Owens said she spoke to Okeechobee County Superintendent of Schools Ken Kenworthy and “he is OK with it not being renewed.” She said the superintendent told her the State Department of Education has been more flexible in what they need in regard to the CARES Act dollars coming through the Florida Department of Education.

Commissioner David Hazellief asked whether letting the LSE sunset could jeopardize qualifying for future funding if the pandemic gets worse. “They are predicting another outbreak,” he said.

County Attorney Wade Vose explained the LSE declaration “gets us three main things.” It gives the county emergency powers, allowing things like curfews and mandatory mask orders. It allows the county to waive their own purchasing policies in order to obtain needed emergency supplies. LSEs are also sometimes required to meet the requirements for access to state or federal funding.

“The state is not looking to see if you have an LSE in place anymore,” he explained. “They are not going to be looking going forward whether you have an LSE in place to access those state funds.

“If it came to be that we were rolling out the vaccine and we decided we need to move faster than our purchasing policies allow us, because of that emergency, you could declare a new emergency,” said Vose.

“This is an emergency categorically different than anything any of us had to deal with in the past,” said Vose. He said Florida counties are used to dealing with hurricanes and FEMA requirements.

Commissioner Hazellief asked county staff to get an opinion from the state before the county allows the LSE to sunset. He added he is concerned about predictions the COVID-19 infections will increase again.

Commissioner Chairman Terry Burroughs said since the beginning of the pandemic, the county has asked the state for guidance on how Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act money may be used and said they have been notoriously “tight-lipped,” providing very little guidance.

He said lacking state guidance, the county has followed U.S. Treasury guidelines.

“Every conference call has changed dramatically over the last three months,” he said. The state has refused to document the guidelines for the use of the CARES Act funding, he added.

“I don’t want to be like these other counties that have to pay back money,” said Hazellief. He said it doesn’t “cost us a dime” to continue the LSE.

Mitch Smeykal, director of the Okeechobee County Emergency Operations Center, said Okeechobee County now has 41 COVID-19 related deaths. The mobile testing bus will be at 55 S.E. Third Ave. at 9 a.m. on Nov. 11. “If traffic there is not great, they may move it down to Flagler Park, but if traffic is great there, we will leave it out there,” he said.

Testing will be open to everyone, he said. No appointments are needed.

“I just want to make sure every person who desires to be tested has the opportunity to be tested,” said Burroughs.

Smeykal said he does not think Tropical Storm Eta will affect the bus visit. The storm is expected to bring 1 to 3 inches of rain and gusty winds to the area over the weekend, if it continues on its current projected path.

In other COVID-19 related news, Smeykal said the hospital census “has stayed pretty consistent.” He said when the pandemic started, they were concerned that Raulerson Hospital has only eight ICU beds. He said the county also has two portable ventilators, which can be used if needed.

According to the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA), as of Nov. 5, only one Okeechobee County resident was hospitalized for COVID-19. Four of the eight ICU beds in Okeechobee County are available. He said at the beginning of the pandemic, the county asked the state for additional portable ventilators but that request was denied. However, he said the state assured them if extra portable ventilators are needed, they will be provided.

Tiffany Collins, director of the Florida Department of Health in Okeechobee County, said the health department reviews the hospital data every day. She said COVID-19 patients in the hospital are isolated. “It is safe to go to the hospital if you need care,” she added.

In the State of Florida, the death rate is about 2.1%, she said. Okeechobee County’s death rate is about the same as the state’s, she added. Remdesivir has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treatment of COVID-19 patients requiring hospitalization, she said.

The positivity rate for Okeechobee County is up slightly over last week, she said. The county is at 6.77% positivity for the last 14 days. “We are still seeing sporadic outbreaks,” she said.

“Businesses are having positives,” she said. It’s important for businesses to maintain social distancing where they can, requiring face masks where they cannot maintain 6 feet of distance between people, and continue to disinfect surfaces.

Collins said 344 people in Okeechobee County have been tested for antibodies, with 32 testing positive.

She said there are still no known secondary exposures in the schools, so it appears the precautions taken by the schools to prevent the spread of the virus are working. In the first nine weeks, there 34 positive cases within the county’s 10 schools; 258 students and 27 staff had to be excluded from schools for 14 days or more. None of those developed symptoms. For the second nine weeks of the school year, so far there have been eight positive cases and 94 students plus six staff members who had contact with those positive cases have been excluded from attending school in-person for 14 days. She said in some cases those who have been excluded rode the same school bus as a person who later tested positive. In some cases, classrooms were not able to provide the required 6 feet of distance between students.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers close contact to have occurred if you have been less than 6 feet from the infected person for a cumulative 15 minutes in a 24-hour period, Collins explained.

She said the health department is encouraging residents to get flu shots.

She said the state is working on an agreement with CVS and Walgreens to give the vaccines to nursing homes and long-term care facilities when a vaccine becomes available. First responders and health care workers will also be prioritized. As more vaccine is available, “they may start with those age 65 and older,” she said. She said they do not know yet when the vaccine may be available to the general public. It will depend on when there is sufficient supply available.

Capital Projects Director Donnie Oden said the county has purchased a new air-conditioning chiller for the Okeechobee County Judicial Center and it is now on site. He said their intent is to remove the old chiller and install the new one on Veterans Day while the building is closed to the public. The new chiller will make the system about 15% more energy-efficient. He said the air-conditioning control system for both the Judicial Center and the Historic Courthouse will be reprogrammed. The current software they use is outdated, he explained. During the installation, they will disinfect the whole system, Oden said. The new system will use ultraviolet light and bipolar ionization to kill viruses, he said. That portion of the upgrade will be funded by CARES Act dollars.

Burroughs said $697,500 of CARES Act funding has been applied to businesses in Okeechobee County so far, and $1.2 million has been encumbered in the first phase.

He said they have found an anomaly in the grant application associated with people who started their business after June 30, 2019. The original guidelines state if you were in business as of March 1, 2020, you could apply for the grant, he explained. The application also requires the business owner to compare income from March through June 2019 to income from March through June 2020. He said businesses that opened after June 2019 can’t provide that information. Burroughs suggested they allow those who started a business after June to provide information for the months they were open in 2019 and 2020. The commissioners agreed to make that change in the application for those who started their business after June 2019.