Message from Mayor Kelly Girtz - May 18

A new message from Athens-Clarke County Mayor Kelly Girtz with some updates on local responses from ACCGov, details on the next virtual Community Conversation on Wed., May 20 at 6:00 p.m. with ACCGov's Housing and Community Development Department Director Haylee Banerjee and District 5 Commissioner Tim Denson, information about advance voting and absentee ballots for elections, and some Leisure Services park openings this week.

The video is available through the link on the image above and

• on YouTube (www.youtube.com/accgov or directly at https://youtu.be/H3HY4rHa0qw);
• the YouTube app on mobile devices or TV systems by searching for 'accgov';
• on Facebook (www.facebook.com/accgov);
• on Twitter (www.twitter.com/accgov)
• on Instagram via IGTV (www.instagram.com/accgov)
• on ACTV cable channel 180.

CHaRM Open by Appointment, Landfill Adds Saturday Openings by Appointment, Compost Sold Out

The Center for Hard to Recycle Materials (CHaRM) will be open by appointment only until further notice.

Appointments are available on Tuesdays (beginning May 26) and Wednesdays (as of now) from 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. and  2:00-5:00 p.m. Appointments can be made online at accgov.com/charm. Residents can pay by check or through their water business account.

Customers will need to unload their own material as directed by CHaRM staff.

In addition, the landfill is now open again on Saturdays by appointment. All landfill customers must make an appointment before visiting the ACC Landfill during regular hours using the online form available at www.accgov.com/landfill. Only existing landfill commercial accounts will be permitted without an appointment.

Landfill customers disposing of 1-6 bags of trash per trip may now also purchase orange ACC Single Bag Stickers. This process reduces staff/customer interactions and transactions while offering single bag customers an opportunity to dispose of their trash. Appointments are still required for all landfill customers.

Compost is currently unavailable at the Landfill.

199 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 199 positive cases of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Athens-Clarke County with 13 deaths as of 1:00 p.m. on May 18.

The Daily Status Report is updated three times a day at 9:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. This change will enable more consistent reporting while still providing timely and actionable data.

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 (153.3 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.