Athens Mayor Ronnie Marks
ATHENS-ON Friday, March 13 Athens Mayor Ronnie Marks a statement concerning the outbreak of COVID-19:
“City of Athens and Limestone County officials have been meeting with our local EMA to stay abreast of concerns related to Coronavirus Disease 2019 as well as various strains of the flu. Our objective is to be prepared and to collectively provide accurate information. Our local EMA is in constant contact with the Department of Public Health, and the City of Athens will share information as EMA provides it.
In addition, I am meeting with City departments heads and cleaning staff to share information EMA provided us from the Department of Public Health related to:
- Best practices for prevention.
- Awareness of symptoms.
- Overview of our Limestone County Pandemic Response Standard Operating Guide.
As a precaution, Athens Police Chief Floyd Johnson has already instructed his dispatchers to ask callers questions in order to maintain the health and safety of our officers. If you call police dispatch, you may be asked if you have or recently had a fever, if you have traveled outside of the United States, if you have been diagnosed with an illness such as the flu or if you have been in contact with someone who has the Coronavirus 2019. This information will help our officers prepare accordingly to limit exposure. Chief Johnson said this will not delay response to calls.
The City will continue to work with EMA and its local Task Force to provide updates as needed.
In addition, as president of the Alabama League of Municipalities, I have been asked to serve on Gov. Kay Ivey’s Task Force regarding protective measures and will take part in a weekly briefing, or more if needed. That will begin Monday morning, March 16.”
