Abbeville County Emergency Management Director Will Blackwell organized a community meeting held Monday at the Abbeville County Administrative Complex to discuss the coronavirus.
Among those entities represented were Erskine, the Abbeville County School District, Abbeville County, City of Abbeville, EMS, the Abbeville Area Medical Center and the Abbeville Nursing Home.
"It was a countywide response to the coronavirus," said Sharon Martin, director of nursing at AAMC, Tuesday.
"People have panicked a little bit," she said. "The hysteria has caused us to overreact in some areas."
Abbeville Area medical Center, for now, is quiet.
"We have not had any suspected cases," said Martin. "We're prepared."
The hospital is working closely with EMS, for example.
Abbeville City Council was expected to discuss last night a coronavirus update (see related story).
The coronavirus battle continues, and Abbeville is definitely feeling the effects.
One Abbeville woman said Friday that she had been to two stores, and neither had hand sanitizer.
She also noted that people are being advised to wash their hands frequently -- at least 20 seconds at a time.
That's time enough to sing "Happy Birthday" or sing your ABCs.
There is available from DHEC a flyer entitled "Stop the Spread of Germs: Help prevent the spread of respiratory viruses like COVID-19 and flu."
COVID-19 is the diseases caused by the coronavirus.
The symptoms include fever, cough, and shortness of breath.
As to how it is prevented, the flyer provides the following admonitions:
- Wash your hands often
- Avoid touching eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands
- Avoid contact with sick people
- Stay home while you are sick
- Cover mouth/nose with a tissue or sleeve when coughing or sneezing
- Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces