The Orange County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Dec. 20 to terminate the local health emergency that was extended late last month for the respiratory virus known as RSV.
The emergency allows the county to access federal and state resources for assistance and seek mutual aid from neighboring counties.
The emergency declaration was initiated on Nov. 1 after the county health officer pointed to a sharp rise in RSV cases.
County supervisors extended the emergency Nov. 29 after spokespersons for local medical facilities told them hospitals were at maximum capacity with children affected by the virus.
Staff from Providence St. Joseph Hospital said their emergency department was at record capacity and pleaded in support of the extension.
“Yesterday, we saw our highest volume of patients in our emergency department than we have ever seen, far surpassing what we saw in COVID at 326 patients,” Desiree Thomas, the hospital’s executive director of emergency services, critical care, and behavioral health, said during the November meeting.
Eight residents spoke at the meeting in opposition to the emergency declarations, with some of them criticizing the board’s decision to declare it last month.
“I do approve the termination of the RSV [emergency]. [It] never should have been there in the first place because there’s no emergency,” one person said.
RSV is a relatively common respiratory virus. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), most patients recover in one to two weeks, but infants and the elderly can sometimes experience more serious symptoms. The CDC has reported a recent surge of cases.
Breathing difficulty, dehydration, and high fever are symptoms parents should monitor to protect their children, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency.
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