Community
Library Offers Contact Free Pick-Up
Since closing to the public in March due to the Covid-19 crisis, the Brunswick County Library (part of the Meherrin Regional Library System) has been working toward bringing services and reading back to the community. Recently the library installed a set of self-service lockers to be used for patrons picking up their reading wish list. While not quite ready to open for full service, the library does offer many online resources such as Overdrive for ebooks and Pressreader featuring newspapers and magazines. The library will be announcing reopening plans soon. For questions contact the Brunswick County Library at 434-848-2418 ext. 301, email at brunswicklibrary@gmail.com, or Facebook at Meherrin Regional Library.
Southside Health District Confirms Case of COVID-19 in Brunswick County
Media Contact: Lorrie Andrew-Spear, lorrie.andrew-spear@vdh.virginia.gov
Southside Health District Confirms Case of COVID-19 in Brunswick County
The Southside Health District announced today a case of COVID-19 in a Brunswick County resident in his 20s. He is isolating at home. To protect patient privacy, no further information will be provided about this case, and VDH does not provide specific information on an investigation.
““We continue to see new cases of COVID-19 throughout the Commonwealth, and it’s now in our area. This reminds us how very critical it is that people follow public health guidelines on social distancing and good hygiene,” said Southside Health District Director Dr. Scott Spillmann. “Staying home and social distancing are the most effective strategies in limiting the spread of COVID-19, and lessening the impact of this pandemic.”
Most patients with COVID-19 have mild to moderate symptoms. However, in a small proportion of patients, COVID-19 can lead to more severe illness, including death, particularly among those who are older or those who have chronic medical conditions. Symptoms include fever, cough, and difficulty breathing. Symptoms appear within 14 days of being exposed to an infectious person. COVID-19 spreads primarily through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
To lower the risk of spreading respiratory infections, including COVID-19, the Virginia Department of Health encourages the following effective behaviors:
- Stay home as much as possible — especially when you are sick.
- Avoid contact with sick people.
- Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when coughing or sneezing.
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds; use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
- Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.
- If you are experiencing symptoms, call your doctor.
- Practice social distancing. Maintain at least six feet of space between yourself and other individuals when out in public.
For more information visit www.cdc.gov/coronavirus or www.vdh.virginia.gov/coronavirus/. Please consult www.vdh.virginia.gov/coronavirus for the latest number of COVID-19 cases in Virginia.
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NOTE: This case has not yet been added to the statewide count on the VDH website. Cases are updated daily at www.vdh.virginia.gov/coronavirus, with the numbers as of 5 p.m. the evening before.
Mecklenburg co-op aids regional broadband expansion
Source: http://www.virginiabusiness.com/news/article/mecklenburg-co-op-aids-regional-broadband-expansion
by Kate Andrews
call center, says Michael Dotti. Photo by Mark Rhodes
High-speed fiber-optic internet service still eludes about 50% of Virginians, but the state’s Southside region is making progress.
In the town of Lawrenceville, the former Bank of America branch on Main Street has sat empty for two years. However, in late September, Gov. Ralph Northam announced that Bedford County-based Echo World Communications LLC is set to locate a call center in the former bank building next year. It’s expected to create up to 152 new jobs.
It never would have happened if the building couldn’t have been equipped with high-speed, reliable internet, says Michael Dotti, business director of the Brunswick County Industrial Development Authority. “It’s a huge amount of technology. This was like small-town guys getting it done.”
Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative (MEC) is wiring the bank building this fall at no cost to Brunswick, with funding from Mid-Atlantic Broadband Communities Corp., which started in 2004 as a cooperative to bring fiber-optic networks to rural Virginia. The broadband cooperative also has installed about 90 miles of fiber cables in six Southern Virginia counties, with 45 more miles planned by the end of 2020.
MEC also has proposed the purchase of Buggs Island Telephone Cooperative (BIT) by MEC affiliate Empower Broadband. The merger is contingent on BIT’s 4,500 customers, who have been asked to submit votes by Nov. 13.
“We expect it will speed up the process of putting fiber in this area,” says David Lipscomb, MEC’s vice president of member and energy services and vice president of Empower. MEC’s customer base averages only seven properties per mile, he says, so the greater population density around BIT’s service area in Lake Gaston will provide more revenue and help fund high-speed internet expansion in the region.
The Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission, which has awarded MEC nearly $3 million in grants, also has been instrumental in building local network infrastructure.
MEC was in a position to help Lawrenceville install high-speed internet at the bank branch, even though it’s not in its service area, Lipscomb notes. As a result, the county was able to attract the call center.
Broadband is “the tool that you need in this world for businesses to want to be in a rural community,” says Carthan Currin III, former director of the tobacco commission and now Brunswick County’s director of economic development. “I think Mecklenburg is really at the forefront of the commonwealth, but we’re coming. We’re making every effort.”
