He must have an eye on everything that is going on in the canton in connection with the pandemic. An overview that allows him to control operations hour by hour. The EMCC TOC, in good English the tactical operations center of the Cantonal Driving Staff, is one of the nerve centers of crisis management since the launch of the ORCA plan by the Vaud State Council .
The TOC is housed in the Cantonal Police Center at La Blécherette in a blind room, lined with screens. On the 26th day of operation, a dozen people became active there. “We are at the limit of sanitary rules,” notes Denis Froidevaux. If the Federal Council takes additional measures, we will have to move. ” The head of the EMCC is the only one in the room not to wear the uniform (except for the journalists present). There is the blue of the police, whose agent ensures the link between the activities of the Big House and the OCD, the navy blue of the members of the EMCC and the green of the civil protection which is there in reinforcement. Denis Froidevaux salutes the quality of the PCi staff in passing: “These are people who are sometimes more important than us.”
All data flows
All information from the field goes back to the operational center. On the screens are displayed the evolution of hospitalizations by establishment, the PCi men engaged in the field, the EMS card or even the state of supply of the large distribution. Apparently, Thursday morning, Denner was a little tight on toiletries. And of course, the evolution of the number of deaths. Even the state of play in funeral homes is closely monitored.
These data allow the device to be adjusted and, if possible, to anticipate when the signals start to turn orange in a sector. “We must constantly adapt, we are facing an adversary that we do not see and who is changing the situation from hour to hour,” notes Patrick Lampert, who manages this system. He is in charge of operations, while his superior, Denis Froidevaux, is at the “strategic” level. It’s not easy to find your way around the government’s state of emergency organization chart.
This new organization is broken down into three very distinct layers: political, strategic and operational. At the top, the Federal Council governs by ordinances and the State Council with decrees. “The politician decides and we execute,” clarifies Denis Froidevaux. The mission of the EMCC is “to provide the Council of State with the capacity to take decisions”.
Complex organization chart
Below, the strategic level is made up of the cantonal doctor, Karim Boubaker, and the cantonal chief of staff. They oversee the operational with mainly the crisis unit of the Directorate General for Health, which focuses on health issues, and the EMCC which takes care of the rest.
“Create favorable conditions to support the health system”
“Our mission is to create favorable conditions to support the health system which is the key to success against the pandemic,” said the head of the EMCC. Denis Froidevaux often repeats to his interlocutors that we are in terra incognita. Solutions must be found to problems that no one has ever faced before. “We estimate that we left for at least 80 days of crisis,” he says. Afterwards, we will have to imagine the de-escalation of the crisis, how to get the machine back on track. It has also never been done. ”
Created: 03.04.2020, 07:44
–
