COVID 19 puts county on emergency footing

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BAY MINETTE – Baldwin County officials have been adapting emergency procedures more commonly used for hurricanes to prepare for a pandemic response expected to last weeks if not months.

The County Commission voted to close many Baldwin facilities to the public, although employees remain at work and services are still available through online services, by telephone or the mail.

“We’ve had state of emergency with inclement weather and other things like this and we’re having to tweak all that to adjust for this different type of emergency,” Commission Chairwoman Billie Jo Underwood said Tuesday.

Zach Hood, Baldwin County Emergency Management Agency director, said the EMA is on a heightened level of alert and is working with the Alabama Department of Public Health and other agencies to coordinate information and services.

“We have been in consistent communication with the public health service, also our state and local public health departments,” Hood said Tuesday. “They have been instrumental in getting us information to best inform our residents so that public and private sectors can make the most informed decisions regardless of their circumstances.”

Hood said residents should get information and updates from reliable sources, such as the health department, EMA or County Commission. He said updates will continue to be available on websites and agency social media postings.

As of Tuesday, 36 cases of covid 19 had been reported in Alabama. One of those cases is in Baldwin County. Hood said the Baldwin County case is a person in Bay Minette who is believed to have been infected while traveling to other areas. That person is under home quarantine, Hood said.

Hood said anyone who believes he or she might have been infected by the coronavirus should call the Alabama Department of Public Health hotline. The coronavirus hotline is 888-264-2256.

He said some people in Baldwin County are being tested for the virus, but not everyone can be tested at once.

“We have a way to test but not everyone will be tested, so we need some clarity there. Just because you have signs and symptoms does not mean that you will be tested,” Hood said. “That’s the reason the Department of Public Health recommends that you stay in your home and make a phone call.”

Many county offices are continuing to function but contact with the public is limited.

Probate Judge Harry D’Olive Jr. said court hearings have been postponed in his office, but residents can still renew license tags online or by mail. He said the Alabama Department of Revenue has also extended deadlines for renewals during the epidemic.

“They have extended the deadlines and waved the penalties for tags and titles through April 15 at this time. So, we were very happy to receive that,” D’Olive said. “That will certainly help the public and help us.”

A bigger question for the Probate Office and public is the March 31 primary runoff election, D’Olive said.

“We are anxiously awaiting a response from the Alabama attorney general as far as what’s going to happen with the runoff election on March 31,” D’Olive said. “That’s still an issue as far as the elderly poll workers that we have who are not anxious to be exposed at the polling places, but hopefully we won’t have to address that. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that there will be a way to postpone that until another time.”

Sheriff Huey “Hoss” Mack said that while the court system is closed to most of the public, the system is still functioning. “I was working on a child-custody situation myself this morning trying to get a family some assistance,” Mack said.

He said no personal visits are allowed at the county jail, but inmates’ family members can still do video visitations and make phone calls to prisoners.

Mack said deputies and city police are also continuing to deal with activities such as spring break.

“It is still spring break that’s going on in our county and we have a large number of people that are on our coast right now and everything is going very well,” Mack said.

Donna Watts, president of the South Baldwin Chamber of Commerce, said at a Monday meeting of the county Local Emergency Planning Committee that since schools have cancelled classes across the state, the number of visitors are up on local beaches.

“I understand that reservations down here, once it was announced that schools are closing across the state, reservations went up, so people are coming here with their families to weather this storm, so to speak, so we’re going to have people and they’re going to want food,” Watts said. “We’re going to have to figure out ways to creatively make that happen, especially with our shut-ins, our elderly, those who can’t get out and go and do for themselves and are very vulnerable to this.”

She said, however, that tourism is expected to slack off if the disease continues to spread.

“Hospitality, our tourism industry segment is going to be hit very hard by this and we know that, so we’re trying to soften that blow as much as we can,” Watts said. “As y’all know, all of the people, and there are a lot of them, that work in that industry. We want to keep as many of those jobs intact as we can. Having children out of school, of course, is a hindrance to that, but our number one goal is make sure people stay healthy.”

County Commissioner Charles “Skip” Gruber said the emergency could last a long time.

“Nobody knows when this is going to end,” Gruber said. “There’s no telling how long it will last. Anytime you have a situation like this, it could go on for quite some time. Because you start spreading, start spreading and stuff. That’s why it’s real important for everyone to be real careful where you go, what you do.”

Coronavirus, COVID 19, Baldwin County