Community Conversations with Mayor Kelly Girtz

Watch the May 20 Community Conversation with Mayor Kelly Girtz on Housing, Food & Sanitation Support

In case you missed it, check out the latest Community Conversations video from the live virtual broadcast that took place on Wed., May 20.

The conversation featured a discussion about providing housing, food, and sanitation support to residents and homeless populations during the coronavirus pandemic with Mayor Kelly Girtz, District 5 Commissioner Tim Denson, ACCGov Housing and Community Development Department Director Hayley Banerjee, and Advantage Behavioral Health Systems Street Outreach Coordinator Michael Bien.

The video is approximately an hour long and is available on:

YouTube (www.youtube.com/accgov or directly at https://youtu.be/n8BfMbJgu9k)
the YouTube app on mobile devices or TV systems by searching for 'accgov';
Facebook (www.facebook.com/accgov);
the ACCGov website (www.accgov.com/videos);
ACTV cable channel 180.

Athens Regional Library System Bookdrops Re-Open Mondays - Fridays from 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

As of Wednesday, May 20, the Athens Regional Library System bookdrops are open Monday through Friday between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. to allow the safe return of library materials.

Patrons do not have to return library borrowed items this first week, as only a limited number of staff will be on hand to handle the returns. Before returning library materials, please keep the following in mind:

If there is illness in your home, please do not return any library items.
No fines are being accrued during this time. The library will alert the public before re-instituting fines.
Do not leave materials outside of the bookdrop. If the bookdrop is closed, keep items until they can be safely returned inside the bookdrop on weekdays between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.
Return only library borrowed materials. The library is not accepting donations.
Library materials will be quarantined in the library for 10 days before being checked-in and taken off a patron's record.

The library system currently expects to begin curbside pickup of library holds as of Wednesday, May 27 between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. to allow the safe circulation of library materials.

The library's online services include digital collections of e-books, audiobooks, and magazines for all ages, live programming on social media, interactive reference chat, access to online resources, and more.

For more information on the Athens-Clarke County Library, visit www.athenslibrary.org/athens.

200 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 200 positive cases of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Athens-Clarke County with 13 deaths as of 7:00 p.m. on May 20. These numbers are the same as May 19.

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 (154.1 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 people who have died were ages 60-98. Eleven of those deaths occurred at a long-term care facility during March and April. For a daily report on long-term health care facilities in the state, visit the Georgia Department of Community Health’s website at dch.georgia.gov.

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.