Sunday, April 12 Update

Severe Weather on Sunday Night / Monday Morning

While we realize this isn't coronavirus-related at first glance, we wanted to make sure that you are aware of potentially serious damaging storms overnight. Related to coronavirus, if you do need to go somewhere else due to damage to your home, consider what precautions related to coronavirus you would need to take and if this would change where you might need to go.

ACCGov Continuing Closed Workstations with Telecommuting April 13-17

All Athens-Clarke County Unified Government (ACCGov) departments and offices will continue to operate under a modified closed workstations model April 13-17 to continue to minimize interactions between employees and the public and slow the spread of coronavirus COVID-19 in the community.

Most non-emergency ACCGov staff will not report to their office locations and most ACCGov buildings will generally be closed to the public. Some buildings such as the Courthouse will allow entry for certain essential judicial functions, while some departments will schedule appointments for essential activities while maintaining social distancing.

Many non-emergency staff will telecommute remotely during the week in order to answer questions and provide services remotely over the phone or online. Other staff will work in shifts on alternating days and maintain social distancing. In most offices, residents will be able to speak with staff directly even though offices are closed.

ACCGov will continue to provide essential services such as public safety, emergency response, certain judicial functions, trash collection, and water and sewer services. Most services and programs are curtailed or suspended temporarily until emergency and public health officials provide guidance as to appropriate times to restore them. 

Residents are encouraged to call departments and offices - a list of phone numbers is available through www.accgov.com/directory - or visit department webpages at www.accgov.com instead of visiting ACCGov offices to see if services or information will be unavailable and which services will be provided online and over the phone. 

Information on ACCGov’s COVID-19 responses and resources will continue to be provided through www.accgov.com/coronavirus, social media, and a subscribeable email and text newsletter available at the website.

84 Positive Cases Confirmed in Athens-Clarke County, 11 Deaths

The state Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) case tracker (https://dph.georgia.gov/covid-19-daily-status-report) confirms 84 positive cases of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Athens-Clarke County with 11 deaths as of 7:07 p.m. on April 12.

The 11 deaths range in age from 60-98. Older adults and people who have severe underlying medical conditions like heart or lung disease or diabetes are at higher risk for developing more serious complications from COVID-19 and should always consult their healthcare provider if they are sick.

Long-term care facilities, nursing homes, and congregate living settings for older people must strictly follow COVID-19 prevention measures to stop rapid spread of the virus.

Guidance for Consumers, Business at Points of Purchase

Governor Brian P. Kemp joined the American Transaction Processors Coalition, Georgia Retail Association, and Georgia Food Industry Association in issuing guidance regarding the use of PIN numbers and other best practices at points of purchase as Georgia continues to fight the spread of COVID-19.

Consumer Tips:

• If a contactless payment option is available (e.g., Apple Pay, or tap and pay), use it.
• Clean your payment cards using soap, hand sanitizer, or alcohol after each use.
• Maintain control of your card, whenever possible, rather than handing it to the merchant.
• If asked for a signature, PIN, or other information at the payment terminal, use your own pen (for signing) or personal stylus (for touchscreens) if you can.
• If using home delivery services, pay in advance through a website, app, or telephone.

Merchant and ATM Owner Tips:

• Merchants and ATM owners are encouraged to clean and disinfect terminals frequently and implement some changes to the payment process to reduce consumer interaction with equipment.
• Follow manufacturer guidelines to protect and care for payment terminals.
• Use 60% or higher alcohol-based hand sanitizer, card reader cleaners, alcohol-based disinfectant wipes (NO BLEACH), or glass cleaner.
• Clean checkout and payment terminal area frequently (or after each transaction, if possible). Consider all checkout touch points (e.g., payment terminal including PIN pad, check lane counter and merchandise dividers, self-checkout lanes).
• When cleaning the terminal, do not clean the electrical connections and plugs.
• Never spray any product directly onto the terminal. Use a cloth or wipe that has been sprayed instead.

From Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH): DPH's Roles & Responsibilities

The primary roles of Public Health in this response involve epidemiological investigations, coordinating resource requests for the regional healthcare coalition, and the provision of testing for COVID-19. Regarding epidemiology, it is important to understand that all positive cases of COVID-19 are reported to Public Health, as COVID-19 is a notifiable disease in the state of Georgia.

However, when providers administer testing, lab results are reported directly to the providers. This process can create a delay between the results and the website posting, as we do not automatically receive these results.

Additionally, some information submitted by providers about positive cases or deaths may have incomplete or incorrect data. The state epidemiologists must verify all case information before posting to the DPH Daily Status Report page, which can cause delays or even changes in the posting.

Some case information is also updated or corrected after the new case is added to the count, causing county numbers to change from one posting to the next. For example, one county may have shown a positive case that was removed in the next posting. This could be due to a mislabeled county of residence (the DPH website tracks cases by county of residence, not where they were tested or treated), or due to a duplication of patient information.

The DPH Daily Status Report is updated with these results twice daily and represents the most current information we have at that time. Due to the delay in time between when results are received by a facility or provider and when they are reported to us, we cannot provide “real time” case counts. The same is true for deaths, which are reported to the facility before they are reported to Public Health.

Additional information on deceased individuals (age, gender, underlying health conditions, if known) is also reported on the DPH Daily Status Report, and DPH has begun providing a weekly report of long-term care facilities that have confirmed COVID-19 cases. This is the extent of the information that we can publicly release without compromising patient privacy.

- From the Georgia Department of Public Health

Information Sources

The response to COVID-19 involves both rapid and extensive changes and also deliberate measures that take some time to consider.

Once official information is released from the Georgia Department of Public Health, the Northeast Georgia Health District, the State of Georgia government, or other local partners, we will report it on www.accgov.com/coronavirus and social media.

Additionally, this COVID-19 update newsletter will go out most days with new information primarily about the ACCGov response and plans. It may also include some local area information of note as space allows.