PHILADELPHIA- Today, the Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management opened the city’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) as a limited activation at 12 p.m. in response to COVID-19.
Yesterday, it was announced that Philadelphia had its first presumed positive coronavirus case.
The EOC brings city departments and external stakeholders together face-to-face in one room for setting objectives along with real-time interagency coordination, information sharing, decision making, and response to developments.
Agencies present in the EOC today include, but are not limited to, the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, Philadelphia Fire Department, Philadelphia Police Department, Philadelphia Managing Director’s Office, School District of Philadelphia, and SEPTA.
The Office of Emergency Management asks that the public stay informed of coronavirus news from the city by enrolling for free alerts by texting COVIDPHL to 888-777 and by visiting the Philadelphia Department of Public Health’s webpage www.phila.gov/covid-19.
As of noon, over 15,600 people opted-in to the COVIDPHL ReadyPhiladelphia text service.
Because of the sensitive information within the EOC, news media will not be permitted access at this moment.
Due to the volume of press requests related to COVID-19, members of the media are asked to send all questions and requests on this topic to press@phila.gov. We will respond in a timely matter.