The City of Pittsburgh’s government has contingency plans to continue to function even if two in every five employees gets sick, Mayor Bill Peduto said Thursday in a wide-ranging phone interview about the city’s response to the coronavirus crisis.
The city’s elected leader — fresh off a week of self-quarantine and now splitting time between home and the City-County Building — talked about the crisis’ budgetary effects and limits on the federal aid available; preparation for the potential need for field hospitals; the need for patient adherence to social distancing and other mitigation measures; and the long road to recovery.
“This is not a day-to-day or week-to-week situation. This is a month-to-month and year-to-year situation,” he said.
Field hospitals
The city has worked with state and federal authorities and with the area’s two major health networks to identify space that can be used to care for sick people if the hospitals become overwhelmed, Peduto said.
He noted that the city does not have the power to allow the provision of medical services in non-medical facilities — that role is relegated to state and federal agencies.
But the city is prepared for “expedited permitting in order to be able to set up mobile hospitals if necessary,” he said. He listed city facilities, dormitories and even tents as options.
About Post Author
