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Mayor Yank Lovelace declared the city of Brewton in a state of emergency Mon. during a special called council meeting.

The rapidly changing events of the pandemic led to the meeting. During the meeting, council members sat 6 ft. apart and followed the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations of 10 people or less at the meeting.

“If you are home, wathcing on TV. We are sitting differently than we would normally sit, we are trying to abide by the CDC’s spacing suggestions of staying apart from each other,” said Lovelace.

“The reason for the meeting is to allow the department heads and the mayor to spend necessary funds to operate the city during this emergency that the country is undergoing,” said Lovelace.

The declaration of a state of emergency was approved by the council.

Lovelace explained, “This declaration will allow the city to act quickly to respond to the needs that of people that live here.”

In closing, he added, “We encourage you to stay safe, follow CDC guidelines and we thank you for your help as we face this challenge together.”

As of press time, there are no confirmed cases in Escambia County according to the Alabama Department of Public Health. The County Commission plans to hold a special called meeting to consider a county-wide state of emergency declaration.