YOUNGSTOWN — Mayors from Mahoning and Trumbull counties say the way we live our lives is drastically changing because of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Meanwhile, most of Mahoning County departments will continue functioning on a daily basis, but with provisions.

“The life we knew in the last week, even Monday, has changed,” said Youngstown Mayor Jamael Tito Brown at a Friday news conference at the Covelli Centre’s community room.

He urged those with compromised immune systems to self-quarantine and for people to stay at home if they’re sick.

Brown and Warren Mayor Doug Franklin said there will be restrictions on those who go to city hall, court and those who seek face-to-face meetings with staff.

Both said city services will continue.

The water departments of both cities are no longer accepting in-office payments for at least 30 days. People can pay online or through the mail.

Brown said Youngstown is looking at putting a moratorium on water bill payments.

Also, the city’s water department will temporarily cease replacing water meters in homes.

City permits are available only after first scheduling an appointment.

Brown added that people shouldn’t come to City Hall without first making a prior telephone call for the next 30 days or until directed by Erin Bishop, the city health commissioner.

Franklin said the virus will have “an impact on our local revenues and our income tax collections.”

He added, “We understand the financial impact, but we have to be more concerned about the personal side.”

There are no plans to close local government operations, they and other area mayors said.

“We’re limiting access to city hall to some extent, but government has to run,” Franklin said.

They expect more changes during the next 30 to 60 days.

Meanwhile, Dr. James Kravec, Mercy Health-Youngstown’s executive vice president and chief clinical officer, said significant changes are coming to the agency’s facilities, including turning some of its buildings and urgent care locations into places that specialize in respiratory care.

Those changes will come to at least one location each in Mahoning and Trumbull counties, he said, and will be announced Monday.

Besides a 55-year-old man at St. Joseph Warren Hospital, there are no others in either Mahoning or Trumbull counties who’ve tested positive for COVID-19, Kravec and Bishop said.

Also Friday, Kravec, who is also the Mahoning County public health’s medical director, explained the yellow tent that went up Thursday at St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital was part of plan put together January in response to the virus.

Because the hospital expects to see an increase in the number of people in need of medical services, it erected the tent to provide more space, he said. The tent includes computers and medical equipment, he said.

“The public may see changes in the community with other tents or pop-up clinics,” Kravec said. “Everything is fluid.”

Mahoning County commissioners also met Friday to discuss with departments the plan of action. A decision to keep departments operating was made, with many already taking it upon themselves to disinfect their offices and even working with what some called “a skeletal crew.”

More detains are coming, as departments decide if they will run remotely or change times, said Commissioner Carol Rimedio-Righetti.

Kravec and Ryan Tekac, Mahoning County Public Health commissioner, were among those in attendance.

The pandemic is not something medical personnel are unprepared for, Kravec said, but this specific virus has never been seen before, so little is known about it.

“This is a fluid situation that’s ever-changing,” Tekac said.

Currently the target population of the coronavirus is anyone with underlying health conditions and people over the age of 60, Tekac said. Others may have the virus with less severe symptoms, presenting as a common cold.

“If you’re not feeling well, you need to stay home,” Tekac said.

State Rep. Michele Lepore-Hagan, D-Youngstown, asked Gov. Mike DeWine and General Assembly leaders Friday to use the state’s $2.7 billion rainy day fund to support small businesses — those that employ 50 or fewer people — that will be negatively impacted by the virus.

She wants the fund to be used to issue short-term, no-interest loans to business owners unable to pay rent, utility bills, taxes, health insurance costs and employee salaries.

“We’re in the midst of one of the rainiest days in Ohio history,” she said.

afox@tribtoday.com