CHRISTIANSBURG — Beginning today, May 6, from 6-7 p.m., the New River Public Health Task Force will host a series of weekly, interactive, virtual town halls for COVID-19, and invites all area residents to participate.
Town halls will be held on Wednesdays, May 6 through June 10, from 6 to 7 p.m. Each will have a specific focus and will feature a panel of local experts, who will offer remarks and answer questions. The schedule, topics and invited panelists are as follows:
May 6 — Health: Carilion Clinic, LewisGale Medical Center, New River Valley Community Services, Virginia Department of Health.
· May 13 — Law Enforcement/Fire and Rescue: Counties of Floyd, Giles, Montgomery and Pulaski, City of Radford and incorporated towns.
· May 20 — Local Government: Counties of Floyd, Giles, Montgomery and Pulaski, City of Radford and incorporated towns.
· May 27 — Local/Small Business: panelists to be announced.
· June 3 — Education/K-12: Radford Public Schools, Floyd, Giles, Montgomery and Pulaski County Public Schools.
· June 10 — Education/Colleges and Universities: New River Community College, Radford University, Virginia Tech.
Interested persons may submit their questions anymore as follows: in writing at http://montva.com/NRVtownhall; by voicemail at 540-391-0385; and on Twitter with the hashtag #NRVStrongerTogether.
Written questions can be submitted during each town hall (at montva.com/NRVtownhall) and will be addressed as time allows.
The town halls will stream live at www.youtube.com/montgomeryva, and will be archived on YouTube, agency websites and social media, and rebroadcast on local cable access stations including Comcast and Shentel Channel 190 (Christiansburg and Montgomery County) and Comcast Channel 2 (Blacksburg).
The New River Public Health Task Force is composed of local health, public safety, education and government agencies that work to proactively provide local residents and communities with information about COVID-19, to coordinate efforts to reduce its local impact and to facilitate community recovery.
For information about the New River Public Health Task Force, visit www.montva.com/coronavirus. For information on the Virginia Department of Health and COVID-19, visit www.vdh.virginia.gov. For general questions about COVID-19 or testing, call the New River Health District public health call center at 540-267-8240. Hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturday, 8 a.m. to noon and Sunday, noon to 4 p.m. After hours, leave a message.
