Daleville Senior Center to reopen Monday

The Daleville Senior Center will reopen Monday, May 17.

That’s great news, said Center Director Laura Leger in making the announcement May 7.

Leger said she and Daleville Mayor Jayme Stayton had discussed the the most recent state health order before making the decision to reopen the center on Old Newton Road in Daleville for members Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Tuesdays and Thursdays will be reserved for deep cleaning and sanitizing, she said.

The Daleville center will continue to provide meals for members as they have done throughout the pandemic, Leger said. Currently there are about eight members who use the curbside meal pickup at center. Leger said that the center will also continue delivery of meals to about 25 members in the Daleville, Clayhatchee and Level Plains area.

“The center opens at 7 a.m. so the members are welcome to come anytime afterwards but we are encouraging them to come around 9 a.m.,” Leger said. “That’s when we will be picking up just a few who need transportation. Of course, we will have to maintain social distancing on the vans.

“ We are planning on having bingo and social time and then we will send members home with their lunch since we are still being required not to let anyone eat at the center,” she added.

The center has been closed to the public since the state mandated, COVID related shutdown in March last year. When the Alabama senior citizen centers throughout the state were allowed to reopen for indoor activities April 19 of this year, the 62 pages of “reopening guidelines” made it difficult for the local center to reopen. “I miss them all so much,” said Leger, who has stayed in touch with members throughout the pandemic.

Gov. Kay Ivey announced May 3 that Alabama’s COVID-19 public health order will end Monday, May 31 and the state of emergency will end Tuesday, July 6.

“For over a year now, Alabamians, like people around the globe, have made sacrifices and adjusted to a temporary ‘new normal.’ We have learned much since last year and this is absolutely now a managed pandemic. Our infection rates and hospitalizations are in better shape, and over 1.5 million Alabamians have had at least one shot of the COVID-19 vaccine,” Ivey said in announcing the decision. “Alabamians have consistently stepped up to the plate over the course of this pandemic and I know they will continue to do so.

“I am pleased that we have shown the rest of the country that we are gritty and determined,” Ivey said. “We are signaling loud and clear that Alabama is open, and we are moving forward.”

The current Safer Apart order consists primarily of recommendations aligned with CDC guidance. However, specific guidance applies to two groups. Senior Citizen Centers must continue to follow guidelines issued by the Alabama Department of Senior Services and hospitals and nursing homes must follow current guidance from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services with respect to visitation.

Barring a great spike in COVID-19 cases, these last remaining requirements should be lifted with the expiration of this order on May 31.

As of April 5, all Alabamians ages 16 and older have been eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccination. Ivey continues to encourage Alabamians to get the safe and effective vaccine.