COVID-19 had already limited attendance at county commissioners meetings. The virus has now forced the board to completely cancel the Oct. 19 meeting.
County attorney Amanda Prince said that the upcoming meeting was canceled out of an abundance of caution after someone who attended the meeting tested positive for the virus. Attendance has been strictly limited since the start of the pandemic, even after multiple requests from the public and some members of the board to open the meetings to a limited number of attendees.
Generally, the only people attending the meetings are County Manager Mike Stephens, Prince, Clerk June Hall, and the board members, including Jerome McMillian, Edwin Russ, Trent Burroughs, James Prevatte, Giles “Buddy” Byrd, Charles McDowell and Ricky Bullard.
The county did not release the name of the person who has tested positive, but Prince said the Columbus County Health Department is conducting contact tracing to inform anyone who might have been exposed.
