| FEMA Advisory: COVID-19 Daily Briefing Points (May 7, 2020) |
| 05/07/2020 |
|
FEMA ADVISORY – May 7, 2020
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic: Whole-of-America Response
Attached you will find today’s FEMA Daily Briefing Points for the Whole-of-America response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. These briefing points include Topline Messages, as well as information on Supply Chain Task Force; By the Numbers; FEMA and Department of Health and Human Services Response; and Guidance from Federal Agencies.
Topline messaging includes:
- As of May 5, FEMA, HHS, and the private sector combined have coordinated the delivery of or are currently shipping: 86.1 million N95 respirators, 123.5 million surgical masks, 8.2 million face shields, 19.4 million surgical gowns, 948.6 million gloves, 10,663 ventilators and 8,450 federal medical station beds.
- FEMA is coordinating two shipments totaling a 14-day supply of personal protective equipment to all 15,400 Medicaid and Medicare-certified nursing homes. The shipments are meant to supplement existing efforts to provide equipment to nursing homes.
- As of May 5, CDC, state, and local public health labs and other laboratories have tested more than 7.4 million samples.
- While FEMA continues to lead the federal operations to the whole-of-America response to the pandemic, the agency continues to prepare for and respond to other disasters that may occur during this time.
- This week is Hurricane Preparedness Week and there has been great interest in how FEMA is preparing to lead response and recovery efforts for additional disasters, such as hurricanes, during the COVID-19 environment.
- FEMA has already responded to severe weather during this pandemic, with devastating tornadoes in the southeast, while the agency also prepares for the start of the 2020 hurricane season in just less than a month.
- FEMA continues to take deliberate and proactive steps to safeguard our ability to respond and recover from future disaster that may arise during this pandemic.
- The President’s Testing Blueprint sets forth the partnership between federal, state, local, and tribal governments, along with the private-sector and professional associations, all of which play important roles in meeting the Nation’s testing needs.
- To support the Administration’s Testing Blueprint, FEMA is working to source and procure testing material – specifically, testing swabs and transport media.
- The FEMA-sourced material will be provided to states, territories and tribes for a limited duration to help increase testing capacity in support of their individualized plans.
Contact Us
If you have any questions regarding this FEMA Advisory, please contact FEMA Office of External Affairs, Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs Division:
Follow Us
Follow FEMA on social media at: FEMA online, on Twitter @FEMA or @FEMAEspanol, on FEMA Facebook page or FEMA Espanol page and at FEMA YouTube channel.
Also, follow Administrator Pete Gaynor on Twitter @FEMA_Pete.
FEMA Mission
To help people before, during and after disasters.
%MCEPASTEBIN%%MCEPASTEBIN%
|
| May 2020 Individual and Community Preparedness Newsletter |
| 05/07/2020 |
|
Coping with COVID-19
Over the past several weeks, our Nation has come together to tackle the spread of COVID-19 and deal with the vast amount of changes in our lives. Staying at home and practicing social distancing have helped stop the spread but may cause feelings of anxiety and isolation. Everyone reacts differently to stress. How you respond to the outbreak can depend on your background, the things that make you different from other people, and the community where you live.
Consider taking the following steps recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to help take care of yourself and reduce stress for you and others:
- Take care of your physical and mental health. Take deep breaths, stretch, or meditate. Try to eat healthy, well-balanced meals, exercise regularly, and get plenty of sleep.
- Take breaks from watching, reading, or listening to news stories, including social media.
- Make time to unwind. Try to do some activities you enjoy.
- Connect with others while practicing social distancing. Talk with people you trust about your concerns and how you are feeling.
- Share accurate information about COVID-19, and understand the actual risk that you and the people you care about face.
- Call your healthcare provider if stress gets in the way of your daily activities for several days in a row.
For more information and resources on coping with COVID-19 and dealing with stress and anxiety, please visit the websites listed below:
|
|
|
CERT Volunteers on COVID-19 Front Lines
From directing snaking lines of cars with patients waiting to be tested for COVID-19 to organizing a “call-a-thon” seeking personal protective equipment (PPE) for first responders, Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) volunteers across the country are stepping in to help with the coronavirus pandemic.
“In San Francisco, we have been preparing for an earthquake, but we train for all hazards.” Read more…
|
Communities Care for Those in Need
With social distancing and stay-at-home orders continuing to occur across the country, people are coming together to help one another during the COVID-19 pandemic. Community-based organizations (CBO) across the United States are critical lifelines in the fight against the novel coronavirus and are stepping in with innovative ways to help those in their communities who are disproportionately affected by disasters. Food pantries have been particularly essential as many people find themselves experiencing food insecurity due to loss of income as a result of the pandemic. At the same time, social distancing is changing everything from how children go to school to how houses of worship conduct services. Read more…
|
|
|
Fire Prevention and Safety Grant Applications Are Open
FEMA has begun accepting Fire Prevention and Safety Grant (FP&S) applications. The Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is available for $35 million in funding for the Fiscal Year 2019 FP&S grants. The deadline for applications is 5:00 p.m. ET on Friday, May 29, 2020. Prepare now by reviewing the 2019 Fire Prevention & Safety application guidance materials on FEMA’s website here.
Hurricane Season Is Coming, Are You Prepared?
On May 6, 2020, FEMA Region II, held a webinar on Hurricane and Spring Weather Safety for National Hurricane Awareness Week. In this recorded session, learn how you can stay alert and weather ready. Hear from the National Weather Service about how you can prepare for severe weather and hurricane season while still taking precautions for COVID-19. Click here, to review the recorded session.
|
Wildfire Preparedness by the Numbers
Only 29% of individuals who participated in the 2019 National Household Survey and lived in a wildfire-prone area had any experience with wildfires. This lack of experience may explain why there is low risk perception (34%) and low efficacy (49%) in this group. We can help raise preparedness efficacy for individuals who live in wildfire-prone areas by helping them understand what they should do before, during, and after a wildfire. We can also help increase preparedness efficacy by providing opportunities and encouraging folks to attend a meeting or participate in a drill.
Animal Emergency Preparedness
Please join FEMA Region II Wednesday, June 3, 2020, from 12:00 p.m. to 1 p.m. ET for our June webinar for Pet Preparedness Awareness Month. Learn how to plan and care for your pets during emergencies. Hear from expert Lindsay Mehrkam, Director of the Human-Animal Wellness Collaboratory on how you can prepare your pets for disasters. Please register for the webinar here.
|
|
Resources to Help Youth Cope with COVID-19 Uncertainty
Between school closings, heightened news coverage, and daily routine changes due to COVID-19, many children may be confused, worried, or even scared. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “Parents, family members, school staff, and other trusted adults can play an important role in helping children make sense of what they hear in a way that is honest, accurate, and minimizes anxiety or fear.”
Everyone manages stress differently, including children and teens. The resources below can help explain both the disease itself and ways to cope with the stress it may cause for children and teens.
- CDC: Coronavirus (COVID-19): Get the facts, including how to prepare your family, symptoms, and resources for the community.
- CDC: Talking with Children about Coronavirus: Guidance to help adults talk to kids about COVID-19 and suggestions for teaching kids how to avoid getting and spreading the virus.
- CDC: Manage Anxiety and Stress: Tips for managing your own stress and helping others, including children, manage theirs.
- Save the Children: Resources include guidance on how to help kids cope with extended school closures, advice for staying connected with grandparents, and family learning activities.
- UNICEF: Coronavirus (COVID-19): Resources from the United Nations Children’s Fund, including handwashing tips, stories about how young people around the world are coping and staying positive, and more.
- National Child Traumatic Stress Network: A parent and caregiver guide to helping families cope with COVID-19. Read more…
|
|
|
|
Disclaimer: The reader recognizes that the federal government provides links and informational data on various disaster preparedness resources and events and does not endorse any non-federal events, entities, organizations, services, or products. Please let us know about other events and services for individual and community preparedness that could be included in future newsletters by contacting
FEMA-prepare@fema.dhs.gov.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
