DOTHAN, Ala. — Today Dothan Mayor Mark Saliba called a press conference to address some topics concerning his citizens leading into including the ongoing road construction and Ross Clark Circle projects.
“Even though we are happy and proud of all of the projects that we have going on on Ross Clark Circle we are acutely aware of course of the fact that it can be disruptive to some degree and our businesses are important to us, I will continue to reiterate that,” said Saliba.
Saliba says the businesses of Dothan are important because not only are they a vital part of sales tax revenue, but also, most businesses are locally owned and managed. Citizens can go to Dothan.Org to see updates on projects around the city.
During the second part of the press conference, focus shifted to COVID updates and Thanksgiving safety.
“Typically in flowers hospital we see around 20, 25-27 or so patients, now at southeast health typically we are in the 30’s to around 40, we are right around that number now, I think there are about 44 COVID inpatients,” said Saliba.
Saliba says the goal for the city is to avoid a surge, even though the hospitals have done a tremendous job handling the pandemic he worries about overwhelming hospital workers.
“When the hospitalizations are up, even with the non-covid patients that taxes them and their staff from being able to take care of you and I every day,” Saliba said.
When it comes to holiday gatherings, Corey Kirkland from the Alabama Department of Public Health shared his biggest tip for the public…
“If you are sick whether you have been tested or not, pass on the gathering that’s extremely important it is the way to keep from having these pods or these groups where we hear about several different infections coming from one gathering,” said Kirkland.