So many employees have contracted COVID-19 in one Mississippi city that the mayor has had to hire contractors to fill in.

“COVID-19 is running all through every department at the city of Clarksdale,” Mayor Chuck Espy said Friday on Facebook Live. “A lot of my team members are getting hit with the virus.”

Espy said he hired contractors to fill in at the Clarksdale public works department. A team will begin to demolish 75 burned homes in 14 days and doing grass cutting work throughout the city.

To slow the spread of the virus, Espy asked for help. He asked that people wear masks, practice social distancing and wash their hands.

He also asked for help in keeping the city clean.

“I’m asking you to do your part today, can you please get out and help in your neighborhoods?” he said. “Please ask people to stop littering. When people drive in their cars, we’re watching people throw bags of garbage into the streets of Clarksdale.”

Espy didn’t say how many employees had contracted the virus, only that COVID-19 is hitting the city “really hard.” He said the issue has been especially prevalent in the public works department, and that several police officers also had contracted the virus.