Governor's Order on April 30

Governor Kemp released an Executive Order (04.30.20.01) late this afternoon extending Georgia's public health state of emergency until June 12, 2020 and requiring medical fragile and elderly populations to continue to shelter-in-place until June 12.

Although the shelter-in-place order expires for many Georgians expires at 11:59 p.m. tonight on April 30, the Governor has urged all Georgians to continue to stay home whenever possible.

Additionally, the Athens-Clarke County Mayor and Commission unanimously approved a resolution last week strongly encouraging residents to continue to:

shelter at their residence except for Essential Activities, Essential Governmental Functions, or to operate Essential Businesses
maintain social distancing of at least six feet from any other person
wear facemasks when in public, following the CDC recommendation

Businesses with a facility in Athens-Clarke County, except Essential Businesses as defined in the resolution, are also strongly encouraged to cease all activities except Minimum Basic Operations, as defined in the resolution.

To the greatest extent feasible, Essential Businesses are strongly encouraged to comply with Social Distancing Requirements as defined in the resolution when customers are standing in line.

Resources:

Information about Governor's Executive Order 04.30.20.01
Governor's Executive Order 04.30.01
Athens-Clarke County Mayor & Commission Resolution - April 21, 2020
[Newsflash | PDF]

Updated Local Business Impact Survey

The ACCGov Geospatial Information Office and ACCGov Economic Development Department have updated the Athens-Clarke County Business Impact Survey to provide updated feedback from local businesses about their needs. The initial survey went out around five weeks ago.

Updated survey link: https://arcg.is/0CfLP80

The survey link is also located in the Business & Workforce Resources area of the ACCGov coronavirus website at www.accgov.com/coronavirus.

The survey is designed to help learn how business’ needs are evolving and how Economic Development can best continue and target our responses and support.

CDC: Reopening Guidance for Cleaning & Disinfecting Public Spaces, Workplaces, Businesses, Schools, and Homes

The CDC recently updated its guidance for cleaning and disinfecting of spaces:

This guidance is intended for all Americans, whether you own a business, run a school, or want to ensure the cleanliness and safety of your home.

Cleaning and disinfecting public spaces including your workplace, school, home, and business will require you to:

Develop your plan
Implement your plan
Maintain and revise your plan

Reducing the risk of exposure to COVID-19 by cleaning and disinfection is an important part of reopening public spaces that will require careful planning.

Every American has been called upon to slow the spread of the virus through social distancing and prevention hygiene, such as frequently washing your hands and wearing face coverings.

Read the updated CDC guidance for cleaning and disinfecting.

Backyard cookout with friends? Not right now.

150 Positive Cases Confirmed in Athens-Clarke County, 13 Deaths

The state Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) case tracker (https://dph.georgia.gov/covid-19-daily-status-report) confirms 150 positive cases of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Athens-Clarke County with 13 deaths as of 6:41 p.m. on April 30.

The case tracker has recently been updated to a new format and provides additional county-level information, including the number of cases per 100,000 people (115.58 for Athens-Clarke County).

If you view the data, however, please be sure to check the area showing the definitions of the information presented. Some have different meanings than what you may expect.

The 13 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.

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.