BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — In its Tuesday morning meeting, the Kern County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the ratification of a local public health emergency due to COVID-19.
During a press conference yesterday, Public Health Director Matt Constantine declared a local emergency. This is separate from the state of emergencies that the city and county declared weeks ago.
The new declaration will free up resources and funding for the department and provide them with more control over the department’s response, Constantine said.
During the meeting, KCPH also provided the board with an update on its response and answered questions from supervisors. Constantine said the county has a total of 235 ventilators, not including surge capacity.
Kern Medical Center CEO Russell Judd said a few specially-made ventilators can treat up to four people at once.
