Community Conversation with Mayor Kelly Girtz

Watch the May 27 Community Conversation on COVID-19 Testing & the Mobile Athens Free Clinic

In case you missed it, check out the latest Community Conversations video from the live virtual broadcast that took place on Wed., May 27.

The conversation featured a discussion about COVID-19 testing and the mobile Athens Free Clinic during the coronavirus pandemic with Mayor Kelly Girtz, District 9 Commissioner Ovita Thornton, Northeast Health District Nursing and Clinical Director Dr. Whitney Howell, and Medical Director of the MPMobile / Athens Free Clinic Dr. Suzanne Lester.

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

YouTube (www.youtube.com/accgov or directly at https://youtu.be/NXVULRbnRnc)
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.

Please note: Due to a Mayor and Commissioner FY21 Budget Review on Wed., June 3, the next Community Conversation will take place on Wed., June 10. Questions can be submitted at www.accgov.com/mayor.

CDC Interim Guidance for Communities of Faith

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offers general considerations to help communities of faith discern how best to practice their beliefs while keeping their staff and congregations safe.

For many faith traditions, gathering together for worship is at the heart of what it means to be a community of faith. But gatherings present a risk for increasing the spread of COVID-19 during this pandemic. CDC offers their suggestions for faith communities to consider and accept, reject, or modify, consistent with their own faith traditions, in the course of preparing to reconvene for in-person gatherings while still working to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

To see the interim guidance, visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/php/faith-based.html.

259 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 259 positive cases of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Athens-Clarke County with 13 deaths as of 7:00 p.m. on May 27.

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 (currently 199.6 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.