Current Update

July 13th, 2020

Brown County COVID-19 Testing Site

Beginning Tuesday, July 14th, 2020 Brown County Indiana will be offering a free COVID-19 testing clinic open to all Brown County residents.

This clinic will be operational from 9 am to 6 pm, seven days a week starting July 14th and closing on July 27th.

Brown County Emergency Management and Brown County Public Health Preparedness have worked diligently with our state partners to express the need for a local free testing site since the beginning of the pandemic and are happy to announce that starting July 14th, 2020 a free testing clinic will be open at the Brown County Music Center.

The health and well-being of our county continue to be the highest priority of Brown County Emergency Management and Brown County Public Health Preparedness. While our numbers slowly continue to climb, we have remained very low compared to other areas of the state and have seen very little evidence of community spread.

The health and well-being of our county continue to be the highest priority of Brown County Emergency Management and Brown County Public Health Preparedness. While our numbers slowly continue to climb, we have remained very low compared to other areas of the state and have seen very little evidence of community spread.

March 27th, 2020

As cases in the county and around the state continue to increase, please watch the ISDH Website. Their COVID-19 map is updated every day at 10 am. Our local and state Public Health professionals complete a disease tracing with each positive that we receive. If you are not directly contacted by either state or local public health, you would not be considered direct contact with that case. Please continue to follow the governor's stay-at-home order. Treat all you come in contact with as if they are positive. Maintain a 6ft distance between you and others around you, and be safe.
#weAREbrowncounty

March 23rd, 2020

One Brown County resident tested positive for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on March 23, 2020, the first confirmed case in the county, according to Dr. Norman Oestrike, Brown County Health Officer. Please see the Brown County Democrat or the Brown County Indiana Emergency Management Facebook page for the full press release.

March 19th, 2020

At this time there are confirmed cases of COVID-19 in all 50 states. There are 56 confirmed cases in Indiana which is up from 39 yesterday. Brown County does not have any confirmed positive cases. Brown County Emergency Management (EMA) is working hand in hand with The Brown County Health Department's Preparedness Coordinator to identify the needs of our community while preparing for the possibility that we will have a positive here in this county.

Late last week we met with the CRH Emergency Services Manager and our county Dispatch Supervisor to confirm the appropriate measures were in place to ensure the safety of our first responders. We also met with county and town law enforcement agencies and all six fire chiefs to discuss how we can come together to continue to serve the public, what policies need to be implemented now, and to begin discussing future needs should resources become limited.

The Emergency Operations Center (EOC) was opened on Friday, March 13th, in an effort to coordinate the response and ensure we are prepared to assist our citizens and various public and private partners.

In addition to the Preparedness Coordinator and the EMA, we added a liaison to assist with both County and Town government and our first task over this past weekend was to make certain that there is a solid plan to ensure the continuity of our local government.

On Sunday we began working with local community leaders to develop a plan to address the needs of our most vulnerable and at-risk citizens. Out of that collaboration came the creation of a COAD, Community Organizations Active in a Disaster and I am very proud of what they have accomplished in such a short time. The COAD is the official group working through EMA and will ultimately become a recognized state group to assist with future emergencies if they arise.

As you know, things are changing rapidly with new information coming in quickly. For the duration of this public health emergency, we will continue to meet, provide each other updates and collaborate. Our response will continue to expand. It is our hope that by working together on the front end and being proactive we continue to provide a seamless response to our citizens.

The work put in by this group is proof that this is not just a health emergency, but a county-wide emergency that will take all of us working together to get it through.