PHOTO: In the room meant to house all command center workers during an emergency, empty seats separate North Las Vegas officials.
Down the hall, workers are tasked with ordering necessary supplies and keeping track of the cost.
In a normal emergency, all these people would be in one room, but this is not a normal emergency. The coronavirus pandemic has changed the way governments operate, and this holds true for North Las Vegas’ emergency operations center, which has adapted to the unique challenges of responding to COVID-19. To stay in touch, officials carry a radio and use Google chat to communicate through text or videoconferencing.
“Obviously … we want to also make sure that we maintain our continuity of operations and if one person gets sick, you know, we don’t want them to take out everyone,” said North Las Vegas Deputy Fire Chief Travis Anderson, who is the emergency manager for the city.