Coffee County EMA issues statement on COVID-19 response

On April 8, the Coffee County Emergency Management Agency, Coffee County Commission and the mayors of Elba, Enterprise, Kinston and New Brockton jointly released a statement in regards to the county’s response to the COVID-19 crisis.

The statement said that the county is currently planning for “various caseloads and infection rates” and hoping that the infection rate in Alabama will peak around the third week of April.

Coffee County EMA has used a modeling technique and has been in constant contact with the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) and other government agencies to ensure it has the latest information.

According to the statement, state officials are working on plans for various alternative care sites (ACS) throughout Alabama and Coffee County EMA has coordinated with Medical Center Enterprise to make plans for various ACS in the Enterprise area.

“These sites are planned to take advantage of all available space and personnel to allow for tiered support for additional hospital capacity,” EMA Director James Brown said in the statement. “We have also expanded our capacity in the hospital under our current surge plan. This is just a contingency plan to ensure we are ready should these assets be called up. Again, we currently have no issues.”

Brown said that Coffee County EMA has requested that all medical trained personnel sign up for the Coffee County Health Corps.

“We will require permission from the state and the Board of Medical Examiners to activate anyone without current certification/license,” the statement said. “However, we are preparing for any and all possibilities and seeking any volunteers to meet possible needs.”

Brown said that Coffee County EMA has received responses from 19 organizations seeking personal protective equipment (PPE) and has met all requests for N95 masks thus far.

“We have requested other equipment including gloves, gowns, disinfection supplies, swabs and other equipment,” the statement read. “However, the Strategic National Stockpile – or federal reserve – has been exhausted at this time.

“To allow for multiple means to fill needs we have asked all organizations to keep any pending backorders. We have priority fill plans and will fill current requests as the federal government starts to receive the orders they have placed for this equipment. This event has also caused the institution of Crisis Standards of Care and some reuse of disposal supplies has been approved.”

Brown also said that a plan is in place for a First Responder Quarantine Shelter at Enterprise’s First United Methodist Church.

“This would be used to house any potentially exposed responders or medical personnel that do not want to go home and potentially infect their families,” Brown said.

Brown said that more than 40 people were tested at the drive-up testing site in Enterprise on April 7 and the results of those tests are pending.

“This is an unprecedented event that takes the help and assistance of all of us working together,” Brown said. “The Coffee County Emergency Management Board thanks the public for their vigilance and for listening to and obeying all the enacted social distancing rules and public health orders.”