We had a great visit from our local Chevron office during Tuesday’s City Council meeting. Chevron announced a generous donation of $40,000 to the Carlsbad Fire Department.
Mark McCulley, Chevron operations superintendent, said the company is grateful for the Carlsbad Fire Department’s tremendous effort in supporting the community throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
The funding included a donation for the purchase of electrostatic misters, which spray fine mist to help decontaminate the fire department’s equipment. The fire department has used similar misters in the past, but this new equipment produces a much finer mist that does an even better job.
Additional funds will be used for radio communications and other equipment, in particular microphones that will make communication easier. Thanks again to Chevron for this generous donation.
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Most people are aware of the fact that Carlsbad and many communities are experiencing a severe shortage in COVID-19 testing supplies, even as the need has increased. Our schools and medical community, in particular, are extremely challenged by the current situation. While there’s lots of research indicating that this current surge in COVID-19 may plateau very soon, that doesn’t resolve the immediate challenges faced by our local institutions and families.
The situation hasn’t been easy for our school district, and it is important to remember that these policies are not being set locally. Parents around Carlsbad received a significant number of text notifications about positives at their school this week, and the line around the school’s testing site has been very long. The school district is doing everything it can to keep all schools open, but the potential for overwhelming teacher shortages due to sickness and quarantine has been the greatest challenge.
There was some good news this week, as the state’s education department announced changes to the quarantine timeline. According to the Public Education Department, if students are exposed at school and have to quarantine, it will now be five days instead of ten. If they are exposed at home, quarantine has been changed to ten days after the positive test results in circumstances where it is deemed necessary. Staff who are not fully vaccinated are required to quarantine for five days if they are exposed at school. Finally, according to the PED, if the staff member lives with the COVID-19 positive individual, unvaccinated staff are required to quarantine for ten days after the results of the positive test.
The quarantining rules have been unbelievably confusing, and often feel inconsistent. But the good news is that, in many instances, quarantining requirements will now be five days instead of ten. We hope this will help somewhat in allowing our school district to adjust.
Sincerely,
Carlsbad Mayor Dale Janway