Leflore County has declared a state of emergency that officials say will qualify it for state assistance should an outbreak occur locally of the novel coronavirus.
The state of emergency, approved Monday at a special called meeting of the Board of Supervisors, was backdated to 3 p.m. Friday, roughly when it was announced that a Leflore County adult female had tested positive for the virus.
She is one of 12 so far in the state who have tested positive, according to the Mississippi State Department of Health.
The Leflore County declaration follows federal and state emergency declarations issued last week.
Fred Randle, the county’s emergency management director, recommended the local declaration. He said it would provide for the county to “get help from the state to get the testing that we need” should there be an escalation in local cases of the virus.
Meanwhile, precautionary closings of institutions and the cancellation or postponement of events that could result in gatherings of large numbers of people continue to occur.
Schools throughout the greater Greenwood area have closed this week, extending their spring break at least through next Monday. Mississippi Valley State University along with the state’s seven other public universities have cancelled classes for this week, with the plan to resume next week using online classes and other means of alternative instruction. Mississippi Delta Community College has extended its spring break through Wednesday, with online instruction to begin Thursday.
Over the weekend, federal health officials revised their recommendation downward, encouraging groups to cancel or postpone gatherings of 50 or more people. The previous recommendation had been for gatherings of 250 or more. Greenwood Utilities postponed its 125th anniversary celebration, which had been scheduled for Wednesday, until an unspecified later date.
Sheriff Ricky Banks, who attended Monday’s emergency meeting, said afterward that he would be indefinitely suspending visitation of inmates at the Leflore County Jail. Visitation is normally held on Wednesdays. The sheriff said the jail presently houses about 60 inmates.
District 4 Supervisor Eric Mitchell floated the idea of taking the temperature of people entering the courthouse and other public buildings and turning them away if they have a fever.
The supervisors did not act on that suggestion.
Fred Randle, Leflore County's emergency management director, gestures Monday during his explanation of the benefit of declaring a local state of emergency over the coronavirus pandemic.
Nervous residents have been emptying shelves of hand sanitizer, disinfectants and other cleaning supplies, complicating the county’s efforts to take precautions. Randle shook his head when asked if he had been able to locate hand sanitizer.
He said he had talked to employees at Walmart who reported that as soon as a truckload arrived with supplies for which customers were searching, the products were immediately bought up.
“They couldn’t even get it on their shelves,” Randle said.
Board President Robert Collins said the health crisis has demonstrated how dangerous it is for a community to lose its hospital. A handful of Mississippi hospitals in rural areas have closed in recent years due to financial struggles, and others are reportedly in perilous condition.
“We have been struggling for years trying to keep our hospital open,” Collins said. “Just think what would happen to rural areas if they did close all the hospitals and we had an emergency.”
• Contact Tim Kalich at 581-7243 or tkalich@gwcommonwealth.com.
