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SFPD outlines pandemic preparations as city monitors swine flu
Summary
San Francisco Police Department briefed the Police Commission on swine flu preparedness, including stockpiled N95 respirators, expedited fit-testing and coordination with the Department of Public Health and CDC; chief staff said no local cases had been confirmed “as of today.”
San Francisco Police Department officials told the Police Commission they are fast-tracking measures to protect officers and the public amid rising global concern about swine flu.
Police physician Dr. Elizabeth Murphy told commissioners, "At this point, we have no cases as of today in San Francisco, but we are expecting that we may have shortly," and described the World Health Organization’s elevation to phase 5 and the agency’s expectation that local cases were likely to follow.
The department said it had stockpiled N95 respirators and would not deploy them widely until local outbreaks were confirmed; instead the SFPD is prioritizing fit testing and distribution. "We're arranging to get fit testing started, so that we will have officers fit tested and protected," Murphy said, describing plans to use the Bittrex method to accelerate fit testing for officers.
Commander Sandra Tong, who oversees homeland security and the liaison role with the Department of Emergency Management, said the department is coordinating daily with the city’s emergency operations center, public-health officials and the fire department. Tong said EOC activation and daily briefings will centralize information and that department bulletins and public-health flyers from Dr. Katz, the city director of public health, are being distributed to district stations for community outreach.
Commissioners pressed staff on why fit testing had not been completed earlier. Chief Fong and Dr. Murphy said the department had PAPRs (positive-air-pressure respirators) and N95 stockpiles but needed to accelerate fit testing to reach operational readiness. Dr. Murphy told the Commission the department had about 4,000 N95s already distributed and planned to fit-test roughly 1,800 officers in an expedited effort.
Officials also discussed operational details such as protocols for transporting suspects and the use of surgical masks for symptomatic individuals on planes, and stressed outreach in multiple languages to avoid stigma or profiling. Commissioner Yvonne Lee asked about protections for point-of-entry officers at the airport; staff said airport officers already had N95s and were being fit-tested because CDC quarantine staff were present at the airport.
The Commission received the report; no formal vote was taken. Staff said they would continue to brief the Commission as the city’s public-health guidance evolves.
