May 06, 2009

11 confirmed H1N1 cases in Virginia
The Virginia Department of Health has confirmed 11 Virginia cases of the H1N1 flu virus, sometimes called swine flu. This outbreak is caused by a virus not previously detected in humans or animals; symptoms are similar to those of seasonal flu and typically include fever, cough and sore throat. People with H1N1 flu are contagious for up to seven days after the onset of illness and possibly longer if they are still symptomatic.

State Health Commissioner Karen Remley, M.D., MBA, declared a Commonwealth Public Health Emergency on April 27. The declaration enhances the Commonwealth's ability to communicate the latest information and guidance to clinicians, hospitals and pharmacists.

VDH opened a Public Inquiry Center (1-877- Call-VDH3) on May 1 to answer questions about the H1N1 outbreak.

VDH makes daily contact with health care providers to give them care and treatment guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For the latest information about H1N1 in Virginia, visit the VDH Web site at http://www.vdh.virginia.gov.

Commonwealth’s pan flu plan available online
Gov. Tim Kaine has approved the Commonwealth of Virginia Emergency Operations Plan Pandemic Influenza Incident Annex VI, now available at http://www.vaemergency.com/library/plans/index.cfm. The annex represents nearly two years of collaboration with many state agencies and provides guidance for non-medical response operations in Virginia to a pandemic influenza event.

Emergency Operations Plan template workshop and plan review available to localities
Developing and Revising Your Local Emergency Operations Plan
VDEM’s Preparedness Division has developed a workshop to help localities create a local emergency operations plan. These half-day workshops use hands-on activities, presentations and classroom discussion to familiarize local governments with the VDEM Emergency Operations Plan Template, available at http://www.vaemergency.com/library/plans/local_eop.cfm.

In addition, attendees are welcome to bring in their existing EOP that is due to be updated, an EOP that is under local review or new EOPs to the workshop for review. Instructors will give a brief review of the EOP and provide help with plan improvement, readability and format, and National Incident Management System compatibility.

Please refer to the training calendar for scheduled training classes: http://www.vaemergency.com/train/calendar_course.cfm?id=128. To schedule a workshop for your area, contact Eileen Tarr at (804) 897-6500, ext. 6529, Patrick Holland (804) 897-6500, ext. 6546, or James Moss at (804) 897-6500, ext. 6547.

Virginia family receives NOAA award
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will recognize a Virginia family for more than 125 years of service. The Weaver family of Rockingham County has operated an observing station since 1880, taking daily weather observations for the historic climate record. Their observing station is the third oldest in the country. NOAA will present the Weavers with the Family Heritage Award on May 13. In addition, Virginia and Richard Weaver will both receive the Dick Hagemeyer Award for their more than 45 years of service in NOAA’s Cooperative Observer Program.

These daily observations are an important part of improving daily forecasts and weather warnings. More information about observing stations is available at http://www.weather.gov/os/coop/.

Governor addresses campus safety
The 2009 Governor's Campus Preparedness Conference, Aug. 3 at Virginia Commonwealth University, will consist of morning general sessions and afternoon breakout sessions. Those interested in participating as a speaker/panelist at the conference should contact Curtis Brown in the Governor's Office of Commonwealth Preparedness at (804) 225-3826 or curtis.brown@governor.virginia.gov. Please note, because of limited conference space this year, each institution is requested to coordinate their representatives attending the conference. A letter to each institution will be sent out in the near future.

Online conference registration is available at http://www.dcjs.virginia.gov/trainingevents/gpolicy/GovCampusPrepare2009.cfm.

Training...
Initial Law Enforcement Response to Suicide Bombing Attacks
The New Mexico Tech course, available in June, provides law enforcement officers with the skills and knowledge to respond effectively to an imminent suicide-bombing or a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device. The class deals specifically with the uncertain nature of a suicide bombing threat; experience has shown that terrorists exploit this uncertainty by altering their behaviors, tactics and strategies. Course designers created nearly 40 scenarios that simulate the many instant decisions that law enforcement officers must make during the initial response to an attack.

If you would like to request this training for your locality, contact Ken Clark at (804) 897-6500, ext.6572.

EM Update is the best way to communicate best practices and to get a heads up on issues that might affect you. Articles include case studies, cost/resource-saving local programs, examples of partnerships and regional cooperation and recognition of emergency managers who receive awards and honors in the field.

Please don't hesitate to contact the editor whenever you have a project that might benefit localities or want to highlight an important issue concerning Virginia's emergency response community. Contact Jolie Shank at (804) 897-6510 or by e-mail at pio@vdem.virginia.gov.

Produced by the Virginia Department of Emergency Management
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