Shelter Island Chief of Police James Read called on the public last night to change our Island mindset regarding our response to the novel coronavirus. We aren’t preparing for a single storm, he said, but a prolonged event.
The primary goals of the emergency response, he said, are to keep people safe, to slow the progression of the virus so that our East End health facilities aren’t overwhelmed, and to maintain essential community services.
“Shelter Island is a storm-hardened community,” Read said, speaking in his capacity as the Island’s emergency manager at a special meeting hosted by the Town and School. “We deal with storms and probably do it the best.”
The Town’s emergency responders pride themselves on getting the Island ready for emergencies, likes hurricanes.
“Everybody stocks up their home and they’re ready for that storm, and within the first week everything’s probably back to operation,” he said. “But the concept here and the change in mindset is far different.”
“We can’t look at this as a 72-hour event. All the best advice that’s coming to us is this 3- to 6- month event,” he said. “This isn’t the kind of thing where you tough it out.”
Read said he’s hearing talk along the lines of “What do we need to that for?” and “We’re Shelter Islanders we tough out things, we do things differently than in other places.”
“This is not that kind of event,” he said. “This is going to prolonged in its duration. We’re not looking at a winter storm. In our new philosophy, we’re looking at a winter.”
“We really need to take that to heart. It’s a change in our philosophy.”
Slow the virus
While most people will likely experience only mild symptoms if exposed to the novel coronavirus, it can cause serious complications, particularly among the elderly and those with chronic health conditions.
Recommendations to close schools and other programs are meant to encourage social distancing and are aimed slowing the spread of the outbreak, Read said.
“We are making efforts to slow the virus because we know we can’t stop it,” he said. “We need to allow our medical facilities and the people that work in those facilities the opportunity to take it in progression and not be overwhelmed.”
“We need to prepare for disruption,” he said. “But stay calm. We’re not looking to panic.”
We are not alone
Read and others spoke to the public via livestream from Town Hall in an hour-long meeting that announced school and Town program closings. You can watch a recording of it on Channel 22, the Town’s public access.
Among the other speakers were Town Supervisor Gerry Siller, Town Highway Superintendent Brian Sherman, Police Sergeant Terrence LeGrady Deputy Supervisor Amber Brach Williams, School Superintendent Brian Doelger and School Board President Kathleen Lynch.
“COVID-19 for Shelter Island Town has been an ongoing process and we’ve been working on this for well over several weeks,” Read said, as a slide was projected showing the entities involved in the response.
“It’s not a thing we handle alone,” he said “It’s a multi-agency coordination and I tried to list on this slide the people and divisions of the Town that are involved, the Police, the EMS, the Fire Department, our Senior Services, the School, the Highway Department, Town offices, and ferry services.”
The emergency management team has also reached out to neighboring communities and entities on Shelter Island that don’t play an official town or school governance role, but are nonetheless vital to the community.
“We are not alone in this,” Read said, listing the multiple agencies on the East End and at the County and State level that are providing guidance.
“I have daily phone calls with the emergency managers from Riverhead and Southold, the Suffolk County Department of Health Services, Dr. Gregson Pigott, he’s on conference calls daily not only with the school and the Town Supervisor.
“Our supervisor has had numerous call-ins with other the other supervisors and other village mayors for updated information daily.”
Read gave a shout-out to Town employees and volunteer members of the Shelter Island Fire Department and Emergency Medical Services squad.
“They’ve taken what I would describe as the extra step,” he said, in looking for “ways to protect themselves and protect the community from exposures as we go forward.”
Continuity of operational plans
A guiding philosophy of emergency management, Read said, is to ensure continuity of operational plans.
“All aspects of Town government are looking at ways to keep our vital town services open but also ways for us to possibly work from home,” he said. “And the key for us is really to limit exposures, especially to our essential workers.”
In short, everyone needs to “come up with alternative delivery means.”
“The school has some work from home plans, both for the schools and the teachers,” he said. “And we also ask that the private sector and businesses also try to embrace this model of continuity of operations. Keeping your business operation in line but finding a way to do it without exposing yourself or your workers.”
