Villanueva: 'Here's A Message For The Board Of Supervisors'
By Jessica P. Ogilvie
Published Mar 30, 2020 2:00 PM
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In a press conference this morning, officials from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's department provided an update on coronavirus in local jails, including the announcement that an inmate has tested positive.
Sheriff Alex Villanueva also took advantage of the moment to send a "message [to] the Board of Supervisors" regarding their effort to remove him as the head of emergency operations during a crisis.
One inmate and four people working in the county jail system have tested positive for COVID-19. The inmate was housed at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility.
According to today's briefing, he was removed from the housing area on the morning of March 26, and has since been in isolation. His condition is stable.
No one who had contact with the inmate is currently experiencing symptoms. However, 190 inmates are in temporary quarantine, pending testing results.
Villanueva then turned the topic to the board's effort to make changes to emergency protocol:
Here's a message for the Board of Supervisors. If the Board of Supervisors votes tomorrow to remove me as a director of emergency operations – actually, eliminate the position of Director of Emergency Operations, this will impact public safety and public health... If you're asking the public to stay home, cooperate with authorities, the same applies to the Board of Supervisors ... This is not meant to stoke any fears, but we have to be united in this fight, and not to be distracted by politics, because that has no place in this fight against this deadly disease.
Members of the board have said previously that the decision has been in the works for over a year, and has nothing to do with the current coronavirus pandemic.
Fentanyl and other drugs fuel record deaths among people experiencing homelessness in L.A. County. From 2019 to 2021, deaths jumped 70% to more than 2,200 in a single year.
