FILE PHOTO — Lewis County Commissioners Edna Fund, Gary Stamper and Bobby Jackson on March 6, 2020.
As of Friday, the closing of Lewis County facilities “isn’t on the table right now,” according to County Manager Erik Martin.
County Commissioners Gary Stamper and Edna Fund met with various department directors on Friday. Commissioner Bobby Jackson was not present. During the meeting, Martin mentioned he’s had conversations with the county managers from Thurston and Cowlitz counties regarding their approach to COVID-19 response.
“Maybe they’re a little bit further ahead of us,” Martin said. “So, I’ve got some drafts from them that I’m looking at, so hopefully by Monday or Tuesday, I’ll have some information to present.”
Additionally, Fund and Stamper were briefed on how to take emergency action. Martin said a resolution is “drafted and ready to go” whenever the commissioners decide to issue an emergency declaration. He continued there is currently no financial advantage to declaring an emergency, so the decision would fall solely on the commissioners.
Fund and Stamper said the trigger for an emergency declaration is the county’s first positive case.
“I don’t think it’s necessary right now to declare an emergency,” Stamper said. “If things move forward, which they probably will, then I think we’ll take a look at it for sure. Again, we’ll get input from our team to help make those decisions too.”
John Abplanalp, Lewis County deputy director for Lewis County Public Health and Social Services, said there are still no confirmed cases in Lewis County as of 3 p.m. Friday.
Still, he maintains Public Health “won’t be surprised” when a test comes back positive.
