Nick Bailey, the director of Hopkins County Emergency Management Agency, said the agency is acting as a support arm of the response to stop the spread of COVID-19.
EMA typically responds to natural disasters or other major emergencies. With the COVID-19 pandemic as a medical emergency, the Hopkins County Health Department is leading the county’s fight against the disease under the direction of Denise Beach, director of the HCHD.
All firefighters and law enforcement personnel have personal protective equipment, Bailey said. They’ve been issued N-95 masks and some departments also have surgical masks. N-95 masks are “tight-fitting respirators that filter out at least 95% of particles in the air” and “reduce the wearer’s exposure to airborne particles, from small particle aerosols to large droplets.”