MACON, Ga. — Macon-Bibb County leaders are taking precautions to protect people from the coronavirus at public events. On Wednesday afternoon, Macon-Bibb County leaders from the city government, Bibb County Schools, hospitals, and other groups met at government center in downtown Macon.
"We don't have a case now, but as everyone else has been saying, it's not a matter of if, but when," said Macon-Bibb County EMA director Spencer Hawkins.
Hawkins said one area of concern is public events like the Cherry Blossom Festival. He said festival organizers will double hand washing stations at the park.
Carnival ride operators will thoroughly clean the rides throughout use and janitorial stuff will clean tables and provide hand sanitizer according to Hawkins.
"It's also a good practice to start cross training. If there's only one person that can do one critical function, that's a single point of failure. You want to make sure that you are cross-training and getting ready for that," said Hawkins.
Hawkins said the county doesn't have plans to shut down any events right now. He said all county leaders are working on a plan in case the coronavirus hits Central Georgia.
Michael Hokanson with the North Central Health District had tips for organizations with employees traveling internationally for work.
"Maybe reconsider, obviously, any sort of non-essential travel," said Hokanson.
Coliseum Medical Center's staff said they now have limited access points to entrances out of an abundance of caution.
Some leaders also talked about cleaning in the courtroom and possibly questioning jurors who are sick and still report for duty.
Medical Center, Navicent Health employees also attended the meeting.
Hawkins said all groups should start thinking about a telework, tele-education, and telemedicine policy.
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