Drive-thru testing opens; life altered in Demopolis

UPDATE: Life has changed in Demopolis since the coronavirus – COVID-19 – made itself known in Alabama.

Meetings are cancelled, classes suspended, people share fist and elbow bumps or genteel bows when they meet, and the virus has become the lead-off the topic of conversation.

Except for essential functions, city services are curtailed, but other services are meeting the threat of the virus.

Whitfield Regional Hospital has set up a drive-thru coronavirus testing site behind the hospital. It is available only to those patients who have doctor’s orders. The site opened Monday at 9 a.m. and will be open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Three people already had used the site as of 11 a.m. Monday, and orders had come through for others that were expected. The swabs are being sent to Lab Corps, and the results will be known in three to four days.

WRH has closed its Wellness Center and cancelled all yoga classes and other meetings.

New visiting hour guidelines were set up Monday. Hours are limited to 12-1 p.m. and 5:30-6:30 p.m. Only one visitor will be allowed in a patient’s room at a time, and all visitors will be subject to a temperature check upon entering the hospital.

The Board of Education meets today at 5:15 p.m., but the site has been changed from U.S. Jones Elementary to the Board Room.

City schools, which were scheduled to close on Thursday, will shut down tomorrow since few students are showing up for class. Classes now are set to begin on April 6.

The Demopolis City School System will be implementing a School Closure Feeding Program beginning tomorrow through Friday, March 20 and Monday through Friday, March 23-27. The feeding program will be closed during the week of Spring Break, March 30 through April 3.

Drive-thru curbside meals can be picked-up in front of Westside and USJ Elementary Schools between 10:30 a.m. and 12 p.m. daily. Parents can pick up meals for any child 18 years old or under.

Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic,  the Non-Resident Meetings for entering students have been postponed until a later date.

Alternate meetings will be set at a later date.  There will be plenty of opportunities for parents to get their students registered before school begins in August.

The City Council will meet as usual on Thursday, March 19.