COVID-19, or the novel coronavirus, is a global viral infection first identified in Wuhan, China. Cases are now found worldwide, including in the United States and California. While the concept of a widespread viral infection can be unsettling, preparation is key. This involves taking health-related precautions to minimize the risk of infection and ensuring your garage door is functional for emergency situations.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Spread

According to the Centers for Disease Control, COVID-19 can spread through person-to-person contact, primarily via respiratory droplets released when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Additionally, the virus can survive on surfaces for up to 3 days. Touching contaminated surfaces and then touching the face can lead to infection. Preventive measures include maintaining a distance of about 6 feet from others and regular surface cleaning and thorough handwashing—washing both the front and backs of hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.

California & Orange County Coronavirus Cases

On March 3, 2020, the Los Angeles Times reported the first two probable cases of coronavirus in Orange County. Both individuals had recently traveled to countries with widespread virus transmission. The public health officer from Berkley, along with the CDC director, urged Californians to prepare for the virus while practicing good personal hygiene.

According to an ABC7 report, a woman in her 30s and a man in his 60s were presumed positive in Orange County. Their status remains presumptive until confirmed by the CDC lab. With expectations of more cases as testing increases, Orange County declared a state of emergency to address the potential outbreak.

Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in California on March 4. Statewide, large events and gatherings were canceled or postponed, and colleges shifted to remote learning for the semester. As of March 14, there were nearly 300 confirmed cases in the state. However, Orange County Health Care Agency stated that the county’s infection risk was believed to be low. Out of the 14 confirmed cases, 11 were travel-related. Adults over 60 were advised to avoid large crowds, cruise travel, and non-essential air travel.

Officials Urged Calm Following First US COVID-19 Death

Following the first recorded death in the US due to the virus, the Trump administration urged people nationwide to stay calm amid the spreading coronavirus pandemic. As cases increased, the government assured the public that additional testing would be available soon. The New York Times reported that the administration’s measures to combat the virus included travel restrictions to specific regions, such as Italy and South Korea.

Meanwhile, infectious disease researchers analyzing coronavirus data suggested it might be more contagious than initially thought. In China, cases surged from 300 to 21,000 in just one month. The R-naught, predicting how many people one infected individual can make ill, is approximately 2.2, meaning each sick person can infect 2 more.

Many residents have resorted to panic buying, rushing to stock up on items like toilet paper, cleaning products, and hand sanitizer. Shelves at Costco locations in Southern California were cleared of bottled water, with customers facing long lines and empty shelves. While having enough supplies at home aligns with preparedness recommendations, panic buying in response to the COVID-19 emergency may have been unnecessary.

The Possibility of Future Mass Evacuation in U.S. Cities

A mass evacuation occurred in 2020 from Wuhan, China, as countries including Australia, Germany, France, and the United States rushed to evacuate their citizens. Following the evacuation, many of these citizens were quarantined in designated facilities to ensure they were not already infected with the virus and to prevent its spread within their respective nations.

Emergency evacuations happen when people urgently need to leave an area due to an immediate threat to their health and safety. These events can be small or large, affecting hundreds to tens of thousands of people. Reasons for evacuations may include earthquakes, storms, floods, incidents involving hazardous materials, and viral outbreaks like COVID-19.

FEMA, the United States Federal Emergency Management Agency, has plans in place for emergency mass evacuations in the US. According to these plans, federal evacuation measures will be implemented when state or local governments are overwhelmed and unable to provide necessary resources. Additionally, if catastrophic incidents incapacitate state and local governments, requiring federal support, evacuation measures will be taken. This could have potentially happened in the US as the coronavirus spread, and local and state governments faced challenges in providing essential services and relief to citizens if overwhelmed.

Getting Your Garage Door Ready for an Emergency

Maintaining your garage door in good repair is crucial for ensuring your ability to leave your home swiftly during unexpected events. This involves keeping your vehicles accessible at all times. You can achieve this by performing routine maintenance, lubrication, and safety testing on your own or by reaching out to a licensed garage door repair company.

The following steps can help ensure that you’ll be able to leave your home and evacuate through the garage door in case of an emergency evacuation:

• Inspect garage door springs that are more than 5-year-old and replace if necessary.
• Inspect the door rollers, tracks, bearings, cables and moving parts.
• Test and inspect the automatic garage door opener.
• Test and inspect the door opener’s emergency release function.
• Ensure that your garage door opener is in compliance with California garage door opener law.

In case of an emergency, unexpected events such as power cuts can render the garage door opener system useless. Therefore, having a door opener with a backup battery can save time during emergency evacuations, especially for residents who may have difficulty operating their garage doors manually.

Additionally, worn-out garage door parts can lead to unexpected breakdowns at the most inconvenient times, preventing you from accessing your vehicles and compromising the securing your garage and home. These risks may manifest as problems, including garage doors suddenly refusing to open, failing to close, coming off their tracks, experiencing a broken spring, a snapped cable, and other issues.

While there’s no need to panic, it is essential to take the necessary steps to be prepared. These preparations should involve having an emergency plan in place that enables efficient evacuation when and where needed. Additionally, regular checks and maintenance of garage doors are crucial to ensuring reliable access to vehicles.