Message from Mayor Kelly Girtz - June 1, 2020

Watch a new video message from Athens-Clarke County Mayor Kelly Girtz with information on the May 31 events in Athens with demonstrators and law enforcement and details on the next virtual Community Conversation on Wed., June 10 at 6:00 p.m. with Police Chief Cleveland Spruill.

Due to a Mayor and Commissioner FY21 Budget Review on Wed., June 3, the next Community Conversation will take place on Wed., June 10 with Chief Cleveland Spruill.

Questions can be submitted at www.accgov.com/mayor.

Improvements Coming to COVID-19 Daily Status Report

Effective Tuesday, June 2, there will be several improvements to the COVID-19 Daily Status Report on the Georgia Department of Public Health’s (DPH) website that provides the positive case information included in these updates. According to DPH, these changes are designed to make the dashboard more user-friendly while providing an accurate picture of COVID-19 in Georgia.

The changes to the Daily Status Report will include:

Once daily updates at 3:00 p.m. to allow time to process and validate laboratory and case reports.
Reordering the display of key summary metrics as follows: Confirmed COVID-19 Cases, Hospitalizations, Deaths, ICU Admissions.
A breakdown of the total number of molecular (PCR) tests, the total number of serology tests, and the number of positives and percentage of positives for each test type.
Revised charts of key demographics that more clearly present data.
Improved usability of charts and refinements to labelling and supporting documentation of the data.

DPH will regularly review and update features of the dashboard to improve data quality and accuracy.

293 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 293 positive cases of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Athens-Clarke County with 13 deaths as of 7:00 p.m. on June 1.

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 225.8 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.

Leaving your cloth mask at home? Not right now.

Frequency of Updates

Beginning June 1, this coronavirus email / text update will change the frequency of delivery. Instead of daily, the updates will be sent at least twice a week, with other updates as necessary with important information.

Questions can still be directed to www.accgov.com/coronavirus, which will be updated regularly, the info line at 706-613-3333, or coronavirus@accgov.com.