Douglas County COVID-19 Planning Team update

To the residents of Douglas County, 
Tuscola, Illinois – The Douglas County COVID-19 LEPC Planning Team met to update public and private stakeholders on recent updates in the county.

* Douglas County Health Dept. – National stockpiles are being requisitioned for personal protective equipment. Plans continue to be refined to assist in the implementation of health protocols as they emerge.

* Douglas County government – An Emergency Proclamation was approved by the Douglas County Board for seven days, effective through March 26, 2020. All county office operations will be kept to a minimum. There is restricted entry of visitors to all county offices.

* Douglas County municipalities – The City of Tuscola has closed all offices and buildings through April 13th. The city is operating with full staff but request no visitors. They are available for electronic communication. They also have COVID-19 community announcements at https://tuscola.org/covid-19-information . The city of Villa Grove –is operating under normal status. 

* Schools – All schools have enhanced cleaning. The schools continue to offer breakfast and lunch to students.

* Nursing Homes and assisted living – they are following the guidelines from the county health department and Illinois Department of Public Health.

* Red Cross – the need for blood donations is critical at this point in time. Many blood drives have been cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Contact local blood centers to sign up for an appointment.

* Ministerial alliance/churches – the alliance is assisting their churches but also reaching out to all community members in need

* Douglas County Fireman’s Association – continue to use pre-check protocols when responding to a call.

* Transportation—Gould Bus Service is completing a detailed disinfection of their buses. Dial-A-Ride is making reductions to essential travel.

* Private industry –Lyondell and Cabot have local pandemic procedures in place.

From the outcome of this meeting, county stakeholders will put together a clearinghouse for county resource assistance from the communities, especially to populations without internet or technology access. Contact the Douglas County EMA office for more information about this outreach at (217) 253-9538.

Signed,
The Douglas County COVD-19 Planning Team
Douglas County EMA