Expert at helm of Amory’s pandemic response plan

AMORY, Miss. (WCBI) – The director of a museum in one Northeast Mississippi town is leading efforts to respond to the community’s needs during the coronavirus pandemic.

Before becoming director of the Amory Regional Museum, Wayne Knox served his country in the U.S. Navy, where he helped develop a pandemic threat assessment.

That training is being put to use right now.

“When all this started happening, I went and found my big five inch binder full of data, dusted it off and went to mayor and said, ‘Look, I’ve been thinking about this stuff for fifteen years, let’s not reinvent the wheel here,” Knox said.

Knox got to work, helping coordinate the city’s pandemic response plan. The museum was closed to the public, and now serves as the city’s Pandemic Response Planning Center.

The museum’s archivist is now making masks for healthcare workers and donations are being collected on site for first responders, doctors and nurses.

“A lot of people bought up Lysol and Clorox a few weeks back, let me tell you, if you have five bottles of Lysol at home, you don’t need it but our first responders absolutely do, so we urge the public, if you have extra, donate it,” Knox said.

As Knox is helping Amory carry out and coordinate its pandemic response plan, he is more than willing to help other cities and towns do the same.

“One of the key things about the plan I put together, it’s zero cost to local government, we’re not hiring additional personnel, not buying additional equipment, take what we have got and people we got and make it work,” he said.

Volunteers are also checking in with senior citizens, and helping pick up and deliver groceries to locals as part of the Pandemic Response Planning Strategy.