Coronavirus COVID-19 Update: Mayor & Commission

Mayor & Commission Pass Resolution Urging Residents & Visitors to Wear Face Coverings

The Athens-Clarke County Mayor and Commission passed a resolution at their Tuesday, June 2, 2020 Regular Session urging all employees, customers, patrons, residents, and visitors in Athens-Clarke County to wear a face covering over their mouth and nose while:

in indoor places of business,
riding in a vehicle with people from outside one’s household,
in outdoor environments and heavily-traveled public rights-of-way where one might come in near contact with persons from outside of one’s own household, such as:
- shopping center parking lots
- strip malls
- public transit stops/facilities
- outdoor patios
- public park pathways
- sidewalks

Face coverings can include:

reusable bandannas
scarves
repurposed clothing
cloth masks
single-use multi-folded paper towels firmly secured to the face with ties or rubber bands

Businesses and public accommodations in Athens-Clarke County are also urged to prominently post signage at all entrances urging patrons, clients, and visitors to wear face coverings upon entering.

Those using a face covering should:

thoroughly wash/sanitize hands before putting on a face covering,
avoid touching the front of the face covering at all times,
wash/sanitize hands before and after removing it.

Reusable cloth face coverings are recommended to be washed in soap and hot water on a daily basis or immediately after coming in near a possibly infected individual.

Residents and visitors are also encouraged not to purchase N95 or surgical masks, as these are limited resources needed for the healthcare community and first responders.

There are some exceptions to the recommendations:

(1) Children under age 6. Accompanying parents/guardians are urged to assure these children stay properly distanced. Cloth can be draped over strollers/carriages/body-worn carriers to protect infants and small children.
(2) Patients in examination rooms of medical or dental offices or clinics or hospitals where there is a necessity to examine or treat the mouth or nasal area, subject to the direction of the medical or dental professionals.
(3) Restaurant patrons while seated at a table and after an order is served. Face coverings should be put back on as soon as a meal is finished and during any interaction with servers.
(4) When wearing a face covering poses a greater mental or physical health, safety, or security risk such as anyone who has trouble breathing, or is unconscious, incapacitated, or otherwise unable to remove the cover without assistance.

A copy of the full resolution is available at www.accgov.com/coronavirus.

Georgia Department of Labor Unemployment Tutorials

Last week, the Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) debuted tutorials designed to help claimants navigate the claims process.

As the GDOL strives to ensure claimants receive proper weekly benefit payments in a timely fashion, the agency posted two instructional tutorials on the necessary steps for requesting weekly payments, both for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) and Regular State Unemployment Insurance (UI).

These tutorials walk claimants through the process, offering insight to the unemployment questionnaires, along with sharing valuable links and helpful examples. These tutorials can be found on the GDOL website under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance landing page (https://dol.georgia.gov/pua) at Request PUA Payments Tutorial or under the individual claims landing page (https://dol.georgia.gov/individual-claims) at Request Regular UI Payments Tutorial.

In addition, the Georgia DOL website is updated daily with new information, as well as their Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/GeorgiaDOL) and LinkedIn pages (https://www.linkedin.com/company/georgia-department-of-labor/). If you do need to call, the GDOL encourages callers to leave messages. Due to extremely high call volumes, not all calls can be answered, but messages are being returned whenever possible.

325 Positive Cases Confirmed in Athens-Clarke County, 15 Deaths

The state Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) case tracker (https://dph.georgia.gov/covid-19-daily-status-report) confirms 325 positive cases of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Athens-Clarke County with 15 deaths as of 3:00 p.m. on June 8.

The Daily Status Report is now updated once daily at 3:00 p.m. to allow time to process and validate laboratory and case reports.

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

The 15 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 such as 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

This coronavirus email / text update is 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.