Sullivan County Mayor: “We face a serious situation” as county grapples with continued rise of COVID-19

Sullivan County Mayor Richard Venable, alongside county health officials and the mayors of Bristol, Bluff City, and Kingsport, held a press conference Wednesday to address the continued rise of COVID-19 cases in the county.

Venable opened the press conference talking to the elderly population, who are among the most vulnerable populations affected by COVID-19. “During this holiday season I encourage and urge our senior citizens, which I am one of, to keep your contacts to close and immediate family members, and weigh the risk everytime you go out,” Venable said.

The message of continuing to practice and support the basic health guidelines of mask wearing, social distancing, and consistent sanitation, was a vocal point of the briefing. City of Bristol, TN Mayor Mahlon Lutrell echoed the words of Venable.

“It’s so important that we are making sure that we are social distancing and it’s even more important that we are staying home as much as we can. I don’t want someone in my family to bring the virus in, and for the people listening, you need to look at this is being very serious that you don’t want to lose a loved one,” said Lutrell.

The county’s health director Dr. Stephen May, who mentioned that the coronavirus positivity rate in Sullivan County nears 24% as of Wednesday, says they are now sounding the alarm especially with the Thanksgiving and Christmas season now here.

“We must now focus on not mixing households and spreading it our loved ones. I encourage everyone to stay home as much as they can,” said May.

Mayor Venable says work remains ongoing in the county on plans for distributing a COVID-19 vaccine for when it becomes available, and he anticipates based on information that he’s received that the general population should be able to receive a vaccine by next summer.