RIVERSIDE (CNS) - Riverside County supervisors today formally ratified a local public health emergency declaration stemming from novel coronavirus cases in the county, directing key agencies to initiate efforts to mitigate potential impacts of the virus.
The Board of Supervisors' action was required after county Public Health Officer Dr. Cameron Kaiser unilaterally issued a countywide health emergency Sunday. His order could legally only last one week.
"At this point, our strategy is mitigation,'' Kaiser told the board. "We need to prevent our medical facilities from being overloaded. For the majority of people, (coronavirus) will be an unpleasant nuisance. But for the elderly and the immuno-compromised (who may become infected), there will need to be more extensive care.''
The local em
