City, County Officials Open Emergency Operations Center

Today, Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin and Kanawha County Commissioners, Kent Carper, Henry C. Shores, and Ben Salango today further supported first responders by opening the Emergency Operations Center (EOC). While the Kanawha County and City of Charleston Emergency Operations Center has been on stand-by until this point, the EOC is now opening at a Level 1 Staffing for further augmentation and response to COVID-19.  The Rapid Response Team has been available throughout this pandemic and has been working with the Unified Health Command, but now all first responder agencies will be working together in one room as part of the response. 

“With the City of Charleston’s State of Emergency in effect, we felt it prudent to open the EOC and get all the right players in the room,” said Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin. “This is not a time to panic. This is a time to have smart, qualified people from all disciplines come together in a coordinated effort to help us slow the spread of this virus as much as possible.”

“Our Emergency Response Team has years of experience with responding to the EOC and coordinating efforts for emergency events.  I am confident they will coordinate the necessary resources to handle the response needed to the citizens of Kanawha County during the COVID-19 pandemic,” stated Commission President Kent Carper.

Commissioner Ben Salango stated, “Our Emergency Operations Center is a valuable resource where all response agencies can come together in a coordinated effort to support one another during a time of emergency.  Right now, we are facing an unprecedented emergency and our responders and ready to work together for however long it takes to protect the safety of our citizens.”

The EOC will work with emergency responders, hospitals, social services, non-governmental organizations and other partners for a community-wide approach to respond to COVID-19. The EOC will be staffed 24-hours a day for the foreseeable future.