Teacher Reuse Store Now Open on Thursdays by Appointment 

The Athens Area Teacher Reuse Store for Athens-Clarke County, Barrow County, Jackson County, Madison County, Oconee County & Oglethorpe County is back in business.

The Teacher Reuse Store is located at the Athens-Clarke County CHaRM at 1005 College Avenue, Athens, GA 30601. The store provides an innovative approach to the recovery and reuse of business and industry discards and by-products, as well as community donations of school supplies.

• Appointments available on Thursdays
• 10:00 a.m. -  3:00 p.m.
• Limit 1 hour per teacher; 5 teachers per hour
• Teacher ID or proof of school required for entry
• COVID-19 precautions will be in place. Please wear a face covering (some will be available).

To schedule an appointment, email recycle@accgov.com with the subject line: “Teacher Reuse” to make an appointment.

For more information, visit accgov.com/trs or call 706-613-3501 ext. 4. A video of the Teacher Reuse Store is available at https://youtu.be/asOPa2jKz6s.

Georgia DPH Asks Residents to ‘Answer the Call’ in New Contact Tracing Video

Atlanta – The Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) is releasing a new video explaining the state’s COVID-19 contact tracing efforts, asking residents to ‘answer the call’ if DPH reaches out.

YouTube Video Link: How Contact Tracing Works in Georgia https://youtu.be/8LANQADjaEY

This video is part of a larger campaign rolling out across the state promoting the Healthy
Georgia Collaborative, DPH’s expanded contact tracing program to combat the spread of
COVID-19. Contact tracing is an important public health tool used to monitor the spread of
infection and identify outbreaks of COVID-19 before they become widespread community
transmission.

Since May, the Healthy Georgia Collaborative has deployed about 1,300 contact tracers and case investigators statewide to interview individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19, and then alert, quarantine and test contacts who may have been exposed. To date, 16,590 cases have been interviewed and 40,082 contacts identified.

“For contact tracing to be successful, education is critical,” said DPH Commissioner Kathleen E. Toomey, M.D., M.P.H. “We need residents to understand what contact tracing is, why it’s important, and how they can participate in helping Georgia stop the spread of COVID-19.”

Beyond explaining the contact tracing process, DPH’s new video also urges residents to “Answer the Call!” When contacts of COVID-19 cases are identified, the first and fastest way that DPH can notify them of their exposure is by calling. “If you don’t pick up the phone,” explains Dr. Toomey, “Then we can’t alert you and get you the support you need. This puts yourself and others at risk of getting sick.”

To encourage participation and reduce scams, when DPH calls, the caller ID will say, “GA
COVID Team.” Contact tracers will provide resources and information on testing, symptom
monitoring and protection for family members. Any information provided to DPH staff members is kept confidential per HIPAA, which is the law that protects an individual’s personal health information. Georgia’s contact tracing program does not use GPS or Bluetooth technology to track movements of residents.

Contact tracers will never ask for personal information like Social Security numbers, credit card information or citizenship status. If you suspect fraudulent activity or know of someone else who has experienced this, please contact the DPH COVID-19 hotline immediately to report: 1-844-442-2681.

For more information about COVID-19 visit https://dph.georgia.gov/novelcoronavirus or https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html. For updates on COVID-19, follow @GaDPH, @GeorgiaEMA, and @GovKemp on Twitter, and @GaDPH, @GEMA.OHS, and @GovKemp on Facebook.

391 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 391 positive cases of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Athens-Clarke County with 15 deaths as of 3:00 p.m. on June 22.

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.