MOULTRIE, Ga. – At Tuesday’s Board of Commissioners meeting, Colquitt Regional Medical Center CEO Jim Matney described plans to reopen the hospital’s regular day-to-day functions in the near future.

According to Matney, the peak of positive cases for COVID-19 occurred in early April but the hospital has seen a downward trend in positive cases since then. Personal Protective Equipment – or PPE – ventilators and coronavirus tests are also not in shortage, Matney assured commissioners. The hospital is now administering less than 10 tests per day, he said.

Still, Matney said, citizens and staff alike are encouraged to remain cautious and diligent. 

“You should still be wearing a mask and cleaning every day,” he said. “You can use bleach diluted with water. Clean your bathrooms and your kitchens; you don’t realize how often you go in and out of these rooms, bringing in stuff from the outside. Clean daily to be safe.”

Outpatient GI, same day surgery, cardiology (with strict adherence to social distance guidelines and exclusion of high-risk individuals) are also slated to open tentatively on Monday after Gov. Brian Kemp’s announcement Monday on the state’s plans to reopen the state. The hospital is planning to resume normal operations and services on May 24.

Also announced at the meeting, gyms, fitness centers and bowling alleys will be open April 24 with an in-person minimum. Restaurants, theaters, social clubs will open April 27, and churches can begin holding in-person service with strict social distancing protocols. 

The Presidential Preference Primary and local primary elections have been changed from May 19to June 9; early voting will still be available, and precincts will remain open.