AMORY, Miss. (WTVA) - The City of Amory has opened a pandemic response center at the town’s museum.

Amory Regional Museum served as the town’s hospital from 1916 to 1960 before it was transformed into the museum.

Wayne Knox is the coordinator for the pandemic response center at the museum. He was the director at the museum before the coronavirus outbreak. Years ago, he worked on pandemic threat assessment with the military.

The response center is working with first responders, the town’s hospital, city government, churches, and small businesses. The center is also working with the Amory Food Pantry and Meals on Wheels.

Knox started planning about two and a half months ago. A few weeks ago, he closed the museum and started full operations on the pandemic response center.

How long does he plan to keep it open?

"We're here for the duration,” he said. “And even if it's just me and a handful of other volunteers up here, we are going to keep operating.”

Knox said he wants and is willing to help other communities as well. You can reach Amory's pandemic response center at 662-256-2761 or email them at prp@cityofamory.com.