Cowlitz 2 Fire Chief Dave LaFave had his own poignant social distancing story Friday: Juggling management of the county’s emergency response group with the birth of his granddaughter.
“Right now, as we’re sitting here, my daughter is giving birth to my first granddaughter,” LaFave said Friday morning. “My first grandchild. We cannot be there with her... and I’m good with that. Because right now it’s for their safety. Whatever inconvenience we have in our society, it’s nothing compared to the impacts that can occur if we don’t do these things.”
LaFave is the incident commander among local officials who have turned the Cowlitz County Expo Center into a nerve center for managing public safety during the spread of the novel coronavirus.
In a fast-paced meeting Friday morning, the members of the COVID-19 Incident Management Team discussed the first confirmed case of a county resident with COVID-19, challenges and needs at St. John Medical Center, and the need for rumor control.