FORT SMITH - A Fort Smith city director says that while some other places may be imposing business closures or curfews, there are no plans to do that locally. City Director George Catsavis took to social media Tuesday night to relay to citizens what was discussed at the regularly scheduled meeting.
“At this time there is no such consideration to do so,” Catsavis said. “However if a state of emergency is declared then things could change.”
According to his statement, the city is taking at least one step toward working with individuals and families during the downturn.
“It’s obvious that all businesses have seen a major decrease in business how long this will last is unknown at this time administrator has agreed to suspend water shut off until further notice, Catsavis said. “All of us on the board will do whatever needs to be done to help the people of Fort Smith.”
The city did ask residents earlier in the week to consider calling ahead to hospitals in the event that they were bringing a suspected Coronavirus patient in.
“The City of Fort Smith is taking a proactive approach to addressing possible cases of the virus COVID-19/disease SARS-Cov-2 (aka, Coronavirus) within the River Valley. Among the many actions underway that include coordination with hospitals and other emergency response agencies, we are also asking for the public’s assistance,” the City said. “If bringing a potential or confirmed COVID-19-infected patient to Baptist or Mercy, First Responders will be calling emergency rooms (ERs) ahead of time so hospitals will activate their protocols to accept those patients. Likewise, if you, your family, or friends may have symptoms, call your Primary Care Physician (PCP), healthcare provider, or the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) first before showing up. Also, make contact in advance to inform of symptoms for any scheduled appointments so the provider will be able to take the necessary steps for keeping others from getting infected or exposed.”
You can follow the CDC Coronavirus resource page by clicking here.
