Masks On, Athens! Face Cover Requirement Information

On Tuesday, August 18, the Athens-Clarke County Mayor and Commission approved the 7th Declaration of a Local State of Emergency Related to COVID-19.

Section 6 of the declaration includes a requirement for the public to wear masks/face covers that cover their mouth and nose in public places, as well as inside entities (private business, establishments, corporations, non-profit corporations, or organizations) and on their attached land.

There are some exceptions to the requirement, as outlined in the declaration. The full declaration is available at www.accgov.com/coronavirus (direct link to PDF).

The language of the Section follows the Governor's Executive Order issued on August 15 that is also available at www.accgov.com/coronavirus. The order allows governmental entities located in counties that have reached a threshold requirement of 100 cases per 100,000 people over the past 14 days to impose a local face cover requirement.

As of August 21, Athens-Clarke County has 349 cases per 100,000 in the last two weeks. Daily status updates are available at the GA Department of Public Health website at dph.georgia.gov/covid-19-daily-status-report.

Message from Mayor Kelly Girtz - August 21, 2020

Watch a message from Athens-Clarke County Mayor Kelly Girtz filmed on August 21 from the stage of the Morton Theatre encouraging returning college students to behave responsibly in light of COVID-19, discussing the Mayor and Commission meeting on Monday, August 24 with the Clarke County School District, and introducing the Athens Music Walk of Fame.

Watch the video on YouTube.

Coronavirus COVID-19 Update: Mayor & Commission

'Last Call' Moved to 11:30 p.m.

Last call for by the drink retail establishments has moved from 2:00 a.m. until 11:30 p.m. Bars must be cleared by midnight.

The ordinance that changes hours for by the drink retail service will remain in effect until five days after the statewide judicial emergency ends. A fifth order extending the statewide judicial emergency was issued by Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Harold Melton on August 11 and currently is in place until September 10. The statewide judicial emergency has been in place since March and may be extended.

The 11:30 p.m. last call time was agreed upon as part of a negotiated legal settlement with plantiffs approved by the Mayor and Commission on August 14.

To assist bars in dealing with their projected loss of revenue resulting from the early closing, ACCGov will maintain reduced alcohol license fees for bars for 2021 and 2022 and will also make certain concessions on penalties and interest for excise taxes for bars.

2,416 Positive Cases Confirmed in Athens-Clarke County, 23 Deaths

The state Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) case tracker (https://dph.georgia.gov/covid-19-daily-status-report) confirms 2,416 positive cases of COVID-19 in Athens-Clarke County and 23 deaths as of 2:50 p.m. on August 21.

These are cumulative cases total since February 25, 2020. For reference, numbers from the beginning of each month:

August 1 - 1,694
July 1 - 574
June 1 - 293
May 1 - 155
April 1 - 54
March 1 - 4

Two additional deaths were reported the week of August 17 to bring the total to 23.

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, such as "hospitalizations," have different meanings than what may be expected.

Eleven 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.

Frequency of Updates

This coronavirus email / text update is sent once to twice a week during normal weeks, 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.