2020 was already a “very busy year” for the Oktibbeha County Emergency Management Agency before the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, EMA Director Kristen Campanella told the Starkville Rotary Club at its virtual Monday meeting.
The Oktibbeha County Lake Dam looked like it might burst in January, and severe weather caused flooding throughout the county in January and February. Then on March 3, before Oktibbeha County or anywhere else in Mississippi had its first confirmed COVID-19 case, Campanella held the first meeting with county first responders to discuss plans to prepare for the virus.
“We were kind of getting (plans) in place for when it did hit our county, because we knew it was going to be a matter of when, not if,” she said.
EMA created a “virtual situation room” where first responders could communicate with each other remotely and consistently, Campanella said.
“Any unmet needs they had, they would post on that platform as well, and it eliminated everybody from having to go to multiple meetings throughout the day,” she said.
Mississippi’s first confirmed case of COVID-19 came on March 12, and Gov. Tate Reeves declared a state of emergency two days later. Starkville aldermen and Oktibbeha supervisors had declared a local state of emergency by March 17, and Oktibbeha County’s first two positive cases were confirmed March 22.
Four people in Oktibbeha County have died of COVID-19, with the first on April 5. The deceased ranged in age from 62 to 89, and three of them were living in long-term care facilities. Those facilities are Starkville Manor Healthcare and Rehab, the Carrington Nursing Center and Rolling Hills Developmental Center, Campanella said.
As of 6 p.m. Sunday, there have been 7,877 confirmed cases and 310 deaths statewide, according to the Mississippi State Department of Health website. Oktibbeha County has had 54 confirmed cases.
Mississippi State University’s John C. Longest Student Health Center has administered 90 COVID-19 tests, and six came back positive, though some of those students have likely gone home to other counties and states, Rotary President and MSU Chief Communications Officer Sid Salter said.
Prompted by a question from an audience member, Campanella said EMA does not receive data on how many people who have tested positive are now recovered, but the agency has flagged eight addresses in the county as locations for “active” cases of COVID-19, thanks to information from MSDH. EMA also asks 911 callers specific questions about their health in order to ensure that first responders have the right protective equipment, Campanella said.
The state is providing twice-weekly shipments of personal protective equipment for Oktibbeha County first responders and health care facilities, and the county has distributed at least 17,000 protective masks to those entities and to “essential government employees” such as road and utility workers, Campanella said.
The cost of a disaster is usually measured in economic damage, she said, but she asked the audience to be mindful of the emotional impact on their friends and neighbors.
“We’ve seen a rise in suicides in other states and we do anticipate that to begin here,” Campanella said. “Usually we’re about two or three weeks behind some of these other states that have more cases, so I think we (should) jump ahead and start pushing that message now. PTSD, anxiety and depression are real.”
The county has a crisis text hotline, and people can text SHARE to 741741 if they need immediate mental health assistance, she said.
The county’s storm shelter at the intersection of Lynn Lane and Industrial Park Road saw its highest attendance so far over Easter weekend in April, when severe storms hit the state and tornadoes damaged southern Mississippi. The shelter first opened in December, and it opens whenever the county is under a tornado watch.
More than 200 people arrived that weekend, and EMA also had masks on hand in case people did not have their own, Campanella said. EMA also implemented social distancing protocols and took every person’s temperature before allowing them inside, and she said everyone was “really cordial” and cooperative.
“I really believe we did everything we could do to get ready for this (virus) on a local level,” Campanella said.
Tess Vrbin was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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