(3/3) Emmitsburg Mayor Don Briggs briefed attendees at the Board of Commissioners' March 2 meeting on the town's preparedness for any occurrence of coronavirus.

Briggs stated, "Like you, we have a concern with regard to the potential spread of coronavirus," adding, "Our responsibility in this matter to-date and going forward will be communicating any information we have... and assisting any way we can where it may be needed."

The mayor said, "The most important thing for all of us to do is stay calm, informed, with an extra

emphasis on the precautionary advice of our doctors and, nationally, the Center for Disease Control (and Prevention), for our annual flus, which is, wash your hands, adequate hydration, adequate sleep, cover your nose (and mouth) when sneezing and coughing, and stay home when you are sick."

"Here's what we're doing," he said, "We have spoken to the pastors of our local churches, spoke to principles of our local schools, and spoke with the president of the Mount, to learn from them and offered assistance in any way we can for their preparedness, and we have our good neighbors, FEMA and Homeland Security, to help us in our needs."

The mayor said Town Manager Cathy Willets has been directed to send home anyone who has flu-like symptoms, "and we hope any businesses out there will do the same."

The mayor stated, "Last week we met with Todd Johnson, a state public health emergency planner with the county, and we will become a closed point of dispensing (POD), if there is an emergency. That means that the staff here will get a main-line to get materials they need so we don't compete with anybody in our community if it becomes necessary at the dispersing points."

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, PODs are "sites staffed and managed by organizations and agencies (both public and private) to dispense MCMs (Medical Countermeasures) only to their own populations while continuing operations during a public health emergency."

"Stick to the basics (as per flu precautions). That's the first step of anything that'll come our way in the future," the mayor said. "If you need any more information on this, go to your doctors. We'll try to get everything we can out there as soon as possible."