March 12th, 2020 – 5:12 PM
City of Rome and Floyd County Press Release –
The City of Rome and Floyd County have continued to meet with local health officials, City and County school officials, the Floyd County Emergency Management Agency, and department heads to address the COVID-19 virus in the community.
To help mitigate the potential spread of the virus within Rome-Floyd County, both local governments are following the recommendations of the Center for Disease Control (CDC). These recommendations for the workplace are attached in a separate document but include the following:
- Encourage staff to tele-work (when feasible), particularly individuals at increased risk of severe illness.
- Implement social distancing measures:
o Increasing physical space between workers at the work-site
o Staggering work schedules
o Decreasing social contacts in the workplace (e.g., limit in-person meetings, meeting for lunch in a break room, etc.,)
- Limit large work-related gatherings (e.g., staff meetings, after-work functions).
- Limit non-essential work travel.
- Consider regular health checks (e.g., temperature and respiratory symptom screening) of staff and visitors entering buildings (if feasible).
All nonessential Floyd County committee, boards, and authority meeting will be suspended until later notice.
In addition to the above recommendations, Floyd County will be adding screenings upon entering the County’s Judicial Center located at 3 Government Plaza, Rome, Georgia. Judicial services could be revised over the coming weeks. Information on court schedules will be forthcoming.
Rome-Floyd Parks and Recreation (RFPR) has postponed the annual Leprechaun-a-thon 5K and Health Walk to October 10, 2020, and gymnastics and other indoor activities, including senior citizen events, are cancelled until further notice. All RFPR outdoor sporting events will be suspended for a fourteen-day period. The remaining schedule will be reevaluated at that time.
City and County officials recommend that local citizens and visitors continue monitoring local information about COVID-19 in our community, practice personal protective measures, and that individuals at increased risk of severe illness should consider staying at home and avoiding gatherings or other situations of potential exposures, including travel. CDC recommendations are attached.
City of Rome Mayor, Bill Collins, stated, “A central theme we have learned from our health partners is to be prepared, but do not panic. We would encourage our citizens to heed the same advice of being prepared while avoiding panic. We all need to work together and take care of our neighbors.”
Floyd County Board of Commissioners Chair, Scotty Hancock agreed with the Mayor’s assessment, adding, “In order to flatten the curve, we must be proactive and not reactive. We are working collaboratively with the medical community, school systems, and the City of Rome to ensure we mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Both the city and county governments are working hard to ensure the health and safety of our employees that deliver critical services as well as the safety and welfare of our residents. As such, we will continue to evaluate implementation of social distancing measures, such as eliminating or avoiding nonessential meetings among our government services and operations over the next 30-40 day period. This is not a time for panic but a time for prayer and community support.”
For more information, please contact the County Clerk’s office at 706-291-5110.