When this rural California county got its first coronavirus case last week, officials were ready with a plan they had hatched early on in the outbreak.
Dr. Eric Sergienko was already in his office early last Tuesday when his cellphone pinged with the message he had been both expecting and dreading.
If the pandemic’s rapid and deadly spread across the U.S. has exposed government incompetence and lack of preparation in other communities, in Mariposa County the tiny Health and Human Services Agency has offered a textbook example of how to handle a crisis. The county’s first confirmed infection comes at a time of growing protests over stay-at-home orders and demands by otheragency began tracking the virus in December, before many in the country even knew it existed.
“We were ready for this,” said Chevon Kothari, director of the county’s Health and Human Services Agency. “We worked together as a team during previous disasters, so we already had some of this planning process in place. But in addition, we’ve had the luxury of time to not have cases early on. So we had the ability to plan.”
The town has kept that pioneer feel, with the stretch of Highway 140 that splits the center of town resembling a western movie set more than a central business district. Some of the local politicians still wear cowboy hats and bolo ties, but tourism, not gold, drives the economy now.“I like the idea of zero. But I also like the idea of one because I really do think it’s validation that what you were planning for actually worked.
Medlock said the county has had his back in other ways too, sending office staffers for takeout meals to help his fledgling restaurant stay afloat. Bill Evans, a 72-year-old retired computer programmer who has been living in Mariposa since 2004, walks home along Highway 140.
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