October 23, 2020 Update

Free Rapid COVID-19 Drive-Through Testing Site in East Athens for Low/Moderate Income Residents

The East Athens Development Corporation is working with the Innovative Health Care Institute to provide free COVID-19 testing for low-income Athens-Clarke County residents. The rapid testing provides same day results.

Drive Through Rapid COVID-19 Testing
Saturdays, beginning October 24
9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. (appointments every 10 minutes)
East Friendship Baptist Church
480 Arch Street
Athens, GA 30601

Same day results
Must be an Athens-Clarke County resident
Georgia state-issued ID required
Ages 12 & up
Must meet federal guidelines for low to moderate income to be eligible for free test
Appointment required.
Schedule an appointment online at https://www.ihci411.com.

This service is funded by a CARES Act grant from the Athens-Clarke County Mayor and Commission.

A-Corps Application Deadline Extended Until October 26

ACCGov announces the launch of the Athens Community Corps - or A-Corps - pilot program. A-Corps is a comprehensive professional and personal development experience that will bring together a team of 10 participants for 11 months for full-time employment with benefits by ACCGov.

Coordinated by the ACCGov Economic Development Department, the intent of the program is to help empower community members to meet high-demand local workforce needs while improving the community.

Participants in the program will be trained in and exposed to various kinds of careers and work activities while learning and developing interpersonal, professional, and technical skills that align with the high-demand workforce needs in the community.

The A-Corps program is based around four primary areas:

community projects
career exploration
comprehensive professional development
life skills

By the end of the program, the goal is for every individual in A-Corps to not only have completed a number of meaningful community projects and experienced a full-time employment opportunity, but also to have gained new skills for permanent employment in the public or private sector as well as new life skills.

Applications are being accepted for A-Corps Coordinator, A-Corps Crew Leader, and A-Corps Crew Member positions until October 26 (application deadline extended).

For more information or to apply online, visit www.accgov.com/a-corps.

Deadline Oct. 27: 2nd Round of Grants & Loans for ACC Businesses & 501(c)(3) Non-Profits with 1-20 Employees

Funded through ACCGov and the federal CARES Act, the Joint Development Authority (JDA) of the Unified Government of Athens-Clarke County and the City of Winterville opened a second round of applications for emergency grants and low-interest emergency loans to provide assistance to local small businesses and 501c(3) non-profits impacted by COVID-19.

The $1 million emergency Turntable Revolving Loan Program is funded through the ACCGov Mayor and Commission’s Resiliency Package, while the $1.6 million for emergency grants is funded through the federal CARES Act.

Round 1 of funding distributed $606,120 in emergency grants to 209 ACC small businesses, and $399,000 in low-interest loans to 36 ACC small businesses.

Applications for Round 2 of JDA loans and grants opened at 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, October 13, with an application submission deadline of Tuesday, October 27. For this second round of funding, grants and low-interest loans are targeted to both small businesses and 501c(3) non-profits with 1-20 employees that are physically located in Athens-Clarke County.

The grant program is first-come, first-served for eligible businesses and 501c(3)s. More information, including eligibility criteria, is available at https://sites.google.com/view/jda-acc-winterville.

COVID-19 Cases & Deaths in Athens-Clarke County

5,656 Cumulative Positive Cases Confirmed in Athens-Clarke County, 47 Deaths

The Georgia Department of Public Health Daily Status Report (https://dph.georgia.gov/covid-19-daily-status-report) confirms 5,656 positive cases of COVID-19 and 47 deaths reported in Athens-Clarke County as of 2:50 p.m. on October 23.

ACCGov updates the graphic with case information on it most Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for social media. The graphic includes the increase in positive cases since the last update and the number of deaths.

The October 23 update shows an increase of 46 positive cases and 1 death since Wednesday, October 21.

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

October 1 - 5,121
September 1 - 3,082
August 1 - 1,694
July 1 - 574
June 1 - 293
May 1 - 155
April 1 - 54
March 1 - 4

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.

Frequency of Updates

This coronavirus email / text update is sent once to twice a week during normal weeks, usually on Wednesdays and Fridays, 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.