Pinellas County commission extends local state of emergency
August 12, 2020 - The Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday extended its state of local emergency declaration for Covid-19 through Aug. 21. The extension of the declaration keeps in force a countywide ordinance requiring face coverings and social distancing practiced in indoor public places. Since the ordinance went into effect, there have been steady declines in the rolling 7-day averages for case counts and positive tests, public health officials said. The board also got an update on hurricane readiness during the pandemic. One key change this year could lead to fewer evacuations. Rather than relying strictly on the existing evacuation map, which assumes that all hurricanes carry the same storm surge risk per category, evacuations will be based on directional storms surge analysis based on the National Hurricane Center surge model data, according to Cathie Perkins, emergency management director. More shelters will be opened per storm category to facilitate social distancing, and the emergency management department has reached out to the Convention and Visitors Bureau and local chambers to identify area hotels that would be willing to convert their facilities into shelters.