In what has turned out to be a weekly update since the COVID-19 coronavirus was labeled a pandemic, Fort Wayne and Allen County officials gathered Wednesday at noon to provide an update to the community.
These Wednesday updates have focused attention on different industries each week in an effort to connect residents with resources. Topics have ranged from the health care outlook to mental health, and today’s centered attention on small businesses.
Allen County Commissioner Nelson Peters led Wednesday’s conference. He sounded optimistic about the idea of “reopening the government,” but noted that, until officials are given the greenlight from medical experts and Governor Eric Holcomb, they will continue to encourage CDC guidelines.
“We have to continue to follow the prescribed protocols. We’ve got to pay attention to what the CDC is telling us, and we have to practice the hand washing and social distancing requirements they’ve laid out. But like I said, we will emerge stronger,” Peters said.
Steve Glaze is the CEO of Fort Wayne Metals. He said surrogates in China began to warn him about the coronavirus in February, which he said allowed him and his staff to begin preparing.
“One of the first things we did was set up a COVID-19 task force including people from our human resources department, safety, quality, operations, so everyone can work together to set up protocols for how to do everything from cleaning to limiting travel between facilities and sharing best practices,” said Glaze.
One of those “protocols” involves a 15-minute window between when operators can use a specific machine, in addition to deep cleaning of the equipment in that period. This was already a workplace standard at their facility in Europe, and has since been implemented across the company worldwide.
Glaze adds that they have also taken feedback from customers, which resulted in the creation and distribution of PPE masks to the community health system.
Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry and other officials also spoke, highlighting the progress Northeast Indiana has made in the fight against COVID-19, but echoed Peters by noting that work still needs to be done.
