County Commission receives COVID-19 update

Coffee County EMA Director James Brown delivered a much-needed positive update regarding the COVID-19 pandemic to the Coffee County Commission on Jan. 25.

Brown said that while he would like to see a few more weeks of data, he believes the state may be past the post-Christmas and New Year’s outbreaks of COVID-19. Coffee County had 535 new cases of the virus of the past 14 days, which comes to 38 new cases per day. While that is still too high, Brown said, it is a significant drop from the 55 new cases per day Coffee County was seeing two weeks prior.

Brown also said that Coffee County’s positivity rate was also nearly 50 percent two weeks ago but has fallen to the low 20s now. Hospitalizations across the state have also dropped and none of the Wiregrass’ local hospitals are filled over capacity, which was not the case two weeks ago.

The concern, though, is that the death rate in Coffee County has climbed significantly with 21 new deaths in the past 14 days. That number makes up 32 percent of Coffee County’s 64 total deaths due to COVID-19 during the entirety of the pandemic.

Brown also talked about the current COVID-19 vaccine rollout. He said that at the current rate of distribution, it would take nine months to administer doses to the those eligible in Coffee County. Brown emphasized, though, that the current lag in vaccines is because the state simply isn’t receiving enough of the vaccines.

Brown pointed out that the entire state has only received 521,225 doses of the vaccine. So, because the vaccine has to be given in two doses that means in reality that’s only a little more than 260,000 people that can be vaccinated. So far, the state has administered 255,291 doses, according to the Alabama Department of Public Health.

Brown said that when the new Johnson and Johnson vaccine – which requires only one dose – is released he believes it will drastically increase the amount of people that can be vaccinated.

Coffee County Commission Chairman Dean Smith pleaded with Coffee County residents to wear masks and continue to distance until the vaccine is more readily available.

“The bottom line is we’re in this for the long haul, don’t think that at the end of March things are going to go back to normal,” Smith said. “My plea to all the citizens is to continue social distancing, wear your masks, wash your hands and use common sense.

“We talk about getting 70 percent vaccinated but we can’t even get 70 percent to wear a mask to go into the grocery store. We have got to take this more seriously; we’re going to be in this for awhile. Please wear your masks.”

In other business, the county approved a resolution to guarantee up to a $150,000 loan for the water line that will be going to the Ben E. Keith Foods site.

Also, the commission approved a bid from Gulf Atlantic Culvert of $20,262.22 for corrugated metal pipe.

The next meeting of the Coffee County Commission will be Monday, Feb. 8, at 9 a.m. at the community room of the Coffee County Complex. All commission meetings are open to the public.