Fresno County cities gain access to infectious materials lab ordinance

FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- Lab authorities is officially underway successful Fresno County.

Tuesday, the committee of supervisors passed a memorandum of knowing for the infectious materials ordinance.

"With cities that privation the Fresno County Department of Public Health to assistance and really bash inspections of unlicensed laboratories, we tin really bash that present successful the metropolis jurisdiction," said Joe Prado, adjunct manager for the Fresno County Department of Public Health.

Joe Prado says cities indispensable motion disconnected connected the statement for the region to assistance with regulation.

"When there's a metropolis serviceman that's acrophobic oregon has immoderate questions, they tin bring america in, and we tin present enforce this ordinance successful there, and it volition beryllium a much expedited process than what we had to woody with previously," said Prado.

What they dealt with previously, the Reedley laboratory recovered successful December 2022 due to the fact that of a greenish plot hose.

The gathering connected I Street had refrigerators filled with chemicals, quality blood, COVID-19 and gestation tests, and astir 1,000 mice.

"This MOU, today, is simply a truly important step, a captious measurement for the tiny cities that simply don't person the resources that the region has oregon that immoderate of our larger cities have. if we bash brushwood thing similar Reedley encountered," said Reedley metropolis manager Nicole Zieba.

Zieba was astatine the forefront of the laboratory fallout and says this statement should make a smoother pathway for dealing with immoderate akin facilities successful the future.

But she says there's inactive much enactment to beryllium done since the Reedley laboratory was the archetypal of its benignant to beryllium discovered successful the U.S.

"Our extremity is to alteration the nationalist landscape, to truly enactment connected nationalist laws that volition support the full state safe," said Zieba.

Prado says the county's adjacent measurement is to supply grooming for each metropolis careless of whether it signs connected to the agreement.

As acold arsenic the laboratory successful Reedley, Zieba says determination are inactive astir fractional a cardinal COVID and gestation tests that request to beryllium removed. However, they are nether the jurisdiction of the authorities wellness department, and it's unclear erstwhile that removal whitethorn happen.

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