WEBVTT

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(dramatic orchestral music)

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- Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.

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I come to you today from
White Sands Missile Range

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headquarters building on
Wednesday, the 25th of March.

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Today I declared a public health emergency

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to ensure everyone understands the gravity

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of the situation that we face.

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It is with deep regret that I inform you

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of the first COVID-19 death in New Mexico.

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More details are
available from the states.

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New Mexico is now at 101 positive cases

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and 6,742 negative tests.

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Of the positive cases, 43 are reported

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in the counties surrounding Albuquerque,

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two in Socorro, 14 in Santa Fe,

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and Dona Ana County is showin' 13.

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Additional details can be
found on the state's website.

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El Paso, latest news reports
are 21 positive cases.

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On White Sands there is some
confusion, so let me clarify.

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We have had

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one WSMR-connected case to date,

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and that is an employee
who has tested positive.

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Medical professionals of both

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the New Mexico Department of Health

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and the Army public health officials

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both conducted traces

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and advised who needed to be quarantined,

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who came in

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contact with the individual,

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prolonged contact with the individual

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that warranted quarantine.

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All of those folks have been contacted

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and are taking the appropriate measures.

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Adjustments to our posture

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based on the current conditions.

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Effective midnight tonight,

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all sponsorships are suspended.

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Exceptions will go through
your chain of command,

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and I withhold the authority
to approve exceptions.

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Deliveries to the commissary, PX

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and package deliveries will continue.

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Mission support,
essentially, will continue.

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The CDC remains under
normal hours of operation.

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The SAC and MST are under
school-out hours of operation.

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ACS is going to appointment-only.

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The library, as we discussed
before, is by appointment only.

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Call ahead so you can
get your takeout books.

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The gym, main gym will close.

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The annex, both annexes will be

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weekdays, 5:30 to 1900, 7:00 p.m.,

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Saturday and Sunday,
0900 to 1300, 1:00 p.m.

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The intent of keeping the annexes open

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is we will keep personnel on site

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to be able to monitor the annexes

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and ensure that they are cleaned hourly.

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As an individual using the annexes,

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please take the precautions,
wipe down the equipment

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before you use it and after you use it.

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The pool is closed.

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Chapel is going to virtual services.

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As I said yesterday,
the theater is closed.

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Playgrounds.

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Playgrounds in the
housing area are closed.

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The playground at the school
is closed for construction.

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The playground in Veteran's Park

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is maintained by the SAC staff

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and wiped down before they
use it during weekdays,

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but otherwise is not maintained.

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So if you want to take your children there

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you should take appropriate
cleaning equipiment

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over with you to ensure you're
providing for the safety

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of your children during that timeframe.

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We had several questions, I'm sorry.

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One more adjustment.

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Wanna remind everyone that
we have gone to takeout only

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at the Coyote Snack Bar

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and the Frontier Club,

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and we are assessing the
way forward with those

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based on usage and needs
to support personnel.

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Questions for today.

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The first question is,

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"Now that community spread
has been found at WSMR,"

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essentially, "What are you doin'?"

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The question provides
a whole bunch of things

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that are referred to as CDC guidelines.

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In answering this question,

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we reached out to our
public health professionals.

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What was put in the question,

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just so that folks understand,

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if you provided the question,

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it is not CDC guidance.

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That may be what somebody purports

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to be CDC guidance, but it is not.

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Let me go back to the
start of the question.

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Community spread has
not been found at WSMR.

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There is an employee
who has tested positive,

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and the full trace has been executed

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by the New Mexico Department of Health

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and WSMR public health physician,

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and the appropriate folks
have been quarantined

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and the appropriate cleaning
actions have been done

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to ensure that we are all safe

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and that folks are gettin'
the attention they need

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and being monitored in case

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there was any spread of the disease.

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The next question was,

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"Other bases are changing
their commissary hours

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"and limiting meat and ag purchases.

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"We need to look into doing that."

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For a week now, we have
limited the purchases

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of folks at the commissary
and at the troop store

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for anything that's flying off

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and things that were are not
able to maintain stockage of,

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and that will continue moving forward

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to ensure everyone gets what they need.

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That doesn't mean you're
gonna get what you want.

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We're workin' on increasing the supplies

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and being able to ensure

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that we get more than just what's needed,

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and understand that frustration.

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In terms of commissary hours,
we have early bird hours

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for folks based on an age limit,

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and therefore allow that separation

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for a group that may be at high risk.

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The next question is, "Kids
are playing unsupervised

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"on the streets when they
should be with their parents."

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Not exactly a question, but
I think it's really important

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to hit a couple of different points.

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First of all, CDC and our
public health professionals

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are not suggesting kids need
to be with their parents.

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Indeed, they are recommending
exercise, sunlight,

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in a manner that is supervised

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and that the parents are
taking responsibility

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and know where your children are.

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And exercising discretion,

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not just for what your children are doin',

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but what they could come in contact with.

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Really ask parents to be
lookin' out for your children

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and what impact that could
have on the community.

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But they need not to be stuck in the house

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unnecessarily, 24/7,

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when you could protect them

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and take the appropriate precautions,

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which are that they can get out

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and get a little bit of their energy out

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and ensure that they are
maintaining their health

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and fitness so that they
are better able to combat,

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whether it's the flu, a cold or COVID-19

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if should they come in contact with it.

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I think a lot, for this evening,

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we're gonna post a list of the status

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of different activities
across the installation

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so that you don't have to rewind

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and look at one night's
video versus the next,

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and we will work on keeping
that posted goin' forward.

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Please take extra measures that ensure

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you're washing your hands,
you're practicing good hygiene,

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you are maintaining social distancing

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for you and those you are responsible for

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and looking out for the
larger community, as well.

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We will be back with you
again tomorrow afternoon.

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Thank you.