WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. — Officials in West Memphis, Arkansas say they are monitoring the coronavirus situation and are actively working to keep everyone safe.
“Our purpose today is to reassure the citizens of west Memphis that we are monitoring what’s going on in Memphis and across Arkansas and across the country and taking steps to protect the citizens of West Memphis,” said Mayor Marco McClendon during a news conference on Tuesday.
He said citizens should not panic, but instead take steps to keep themselves from getting sick. He recommended the CDC guidelines, which include washing your hands for at least twenty seconds, staying home when you are sick and covering coughs.
Those steps also include additional sanitation areas in public spaces like schools, county buildings and Southland Casino. Doctors say that, along with practicing good hygiene like proper hand washing, is key to preventing coronavirus.
They also said special attention should be given to high risk groups.
“The basic focus here in Crittenden County should be our assisted living and nursing homes. So we need to take some measures to make sure the entrance to those elderly populations is restricted,” said Dr. Shakeb Hashmi.
While that happens, city and county leaders have created an emergency management plan for how to handle any confirmed cases of coronavirus. To date, there are none in West Memphis.
Officials said that starts with confirmation through testing.
“We do have the testing kits available and they’re adequate to meet the demand for the state or Arkansas,” said Linda Cannon with the Arkansas Department of Health.
Local health professionals said they don’t have the ability to test patients in West Memphis at this time.
“I don’t think we have kits to test those patients yet. So let’s be clear about it, we don’t have cases because we are not testing. So I’m pretty sure it’s here,” said Hashmi.
The health department said all state providers have the ability to collect samples and send to the state lab for testing.
