News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Van Buren County received four sanitizing machines Monday to help with COVID-19 protection.
A CARES Act grant paid for the machines. The first two were sent out to ambulance services and the county school system. Van Buren County Mayor Greg Wilson said nine have been ordered to meet the standards residents expect from the county
“It’s huge, people will know when they go into the fire department or one of the community centers that it’s going to be sanitized with this machine,” Wilson said. “During this time of COVID it’s very important for people to have that expectation.”
The other two sanitizing machines that arrived Monday will be used in the county jail and county administration building. The remaining sanitizing machines will go out to fire departments to help with community sanitizing.
“We will be asking them when there’s any kind of activity at the community centers within their community,” Wilson said. “If they would also be able to sanitize those as well.”
The more than $86,000 Van Buren County received through the CARES Act will provide more than just sanitizing machines. Wilson said this will help with PPE for cleaning specialists and other equipment.
“Two PAPR machines, which is a hooded oxygen outfit that we’ll be using for those,” Wilson said. “PPE Equipment such as face shields and goggles and N95 masks and things of that nature, we’ll be giving that out to not only our EMS but our fire departments as well.”
Wilson said the remaining sanitizing machines are expected to arrived within the next week.
