Dear Residents and visitors to the Castle Shannon Police Department website,

Coronavirus (COVOD-19) is, unfortunately, a global focal point at the moment.  What can we say in our microcosm of the global community that hasn’t been said?

In Emergency Management, there is a saying that "every emergency is local."

While this global issue is concerning for everyone, we at the Borough-level have a responsibility to our constituency to parrot good information and hopefully be a source of comfort.

As a municipality, we take our emergency management lead from County-level agencies.

The Allegheny County Emergency Management Department held our quarterly meeting this morning.

Emergency Management personnel from many municipal governments were in attendance, as well as County Emergency Management and County Health Department leaders and staff.

Essentially, these entities espoused a mantra of "Planning and Preparation, with a large dose of Prevention."

The planning at this stage, for our region, includes common sense messaging of social distancing, staying home if you are sick, continuity of government and non-pharmaceutical intervention (hand washing, isolation of sick people, respiration etiquette (cover your mouth, cough into your elbow, etc…) and environmental surface cleaning).

While we are bombarded with news and headlines about the illness, your best defense is to stay informed with good information and keep good hygiene.

The County website listed below provides up to date information and data specific to different audiences.

https://www.alleghenycounty.us/healthdepartment/index.aspx

There are further links there to the Pennsylvania Department of Health site and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

We encourage all residents to visit the County Health Department website as often as you feel the need to gather the latest facts and prevention measures.

https://www.alleghenycounty.us/Health-Department/Resources/COVID-19/Information-for-Residents.aspx

_ _ _