HACHR Executive Director Lasara Firefox Allen | Screenshot from video of Jan. 5 Eureka City Council meeting After hours of discussion and hearing from dozens of community members during a meeting on Tuesday night, Eureka City Council unanimously adopted a resolution allowing for mobile syringe exchange programs (SEPs) to operate within city limits during the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision, which follows the council’s recent vote to temporarily ban SEPs entirely, amends the city’s local emergency declaration related to the pandemic to temporarily allow for mobile-only exchange, until the council can rewrite and adopt a more permanent syringe ordinance. Although the Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) — not subject to city jurisdiction — has continued to operate a SEP in Eureka, City Manager Miles Slattery said that the program is strained. “While they have increased to three days and have seen a lot more people, they don’t feel that they’re meeting the need,” Slattery said, citing a conversation he had with Public Health Director Michelle Stephens.