Tim Dodson
Bristol Herald Courier
APPALACHIA, Va. — A police barricade was established Friday morning around a Wise County public housing complex where residents have been quarantined due to potential exposure to COVID-19.
The barricade and police perimeter was implemented at the Appalachian Towers Building in the town of Appalachia to limit the spread of coronavirus, according to the news release from the Wise County Commonwealth Attorney’s Office.
The action came after the town was notified in an April 5 letter from the LENOWISCO Health District that all residents of the building were being quarantined because of potential exposure to the virus.
The quarantine was initially put into place on a voluntary basis.
However, “after several days of trying to confine residents to the Towers, it was observed there was still an issue of community spread. Therefore, and unfortunately, the decision to establish a police perimeter was made,” Town Manager Fred Luntsford wrote in a Facebook post.
Luntsford said the majority of residents had been “very cooperative,” but that “the problem we were seeing was that nonresidents were entering the building creating the risk of community spread.”
The complex has 36 one-bedroom units, according to the website of the Wise County Housing Redevelopment and Authority, which owns the property.
“COVID-19 is an uncharted territory with frightening results. We feel these temporary precautions are for the safety and well-being of all our residents at Appalachian Towers,” said Monty L. Salyer, the authority’s executive director.
So far, Wise County has reported a total of eight confirmed COVID-19 cases, according data available on the Virginia Department of Health’s website.
Local officials have previously said two cases were Appalachian Towers residents.
“The protective zone will be in place for a period of 14 days or until the restrictions are lifted per the recommendation of the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the Director of the LENOWISCO Health District,” the release states.
The town and Wise County Emergency Management are providing food, drinks and medication to residents.
Anyone who crosses the police lines without the proper permissions could be charged under Virginia Code Section 18.2-414.2, the release states. This section of state law makes it a Class 3 misdemeanor to cross established police lines, perimeters and barricades without authorization.