DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Beachside counties are adapting their hurricane evacuation shelter precautions with the pandemic in mind.

In Volusia County, Emergency Management Director Jim Judge says he has “buckets and buckets” of five-gallon hand sanitizer ready to go, separated into individual bottles.

“We do ask the public to help us out too: if you’ve got hand sanitizer, bring some with you,” Judge told News 13. “Bring a mask. But if folks show up and they don’t have those items, we’re certainly gonna provide that for them.”

Shelters are also being modified to factor in social distancing. Individual living spaces have been expanded from 20 square feet to 60 square feet, according to Judge. Individuals staying at special needs shelters will get 80 square feet a piece.

To accommodate the additional space needed, more shelters will be activated for any given event. Judge says there are around 34 schools on the shelter list, plus the county fairgrounds.

Everyone entering the shelters will be screened for COVID-19 symptoms and have their temperature checked. Anyone who is sick or who may have the virus will be quarantined in a separate area. As always, medical staff will be at the shelters in case of emergency.

Judge saw Hurricane Isaias was a test round. He activated several shelters, but the storm moved further away and they ended up not being necessary.

He feels validated about his pandemic safety precautions, after checking in with emergency officials in areas recently hit by storms.

“We’re following up with them because we want to find out what went right, what went wrong,” Judge explained. “So far, all of the precautions that we have in place are what everyone is recommending who has been through it.”

The school district handles the deep cleaning for any campus spaces used as shelters, before and after, according to a district spokesperson.