December 31, 2020 Update

Celebrate New Year's Eve Safely

The safest way to celebrate the new year is to celebrate at home with the people who live with you or virtually with friends and family. Staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others.

Travel and gatherings with family and friends who do not live with you can increase your chances of getting and spreading COVID-19 or the flu.

Everyone can make New Year's Eve safer. To find out tips on how to do so, see the tips below from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or visit their New Year's Eve page at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/holidays/new-years-eve.html.

Safer New Year’s Celebrations with Friends and Family

Staying home and celebrating with the people you live with or celebrating virtually with loved ones is the safest choice this year. Do not attend large gatherings this year. If you do host or attend a small gathering, everyone can take steps to make celebrating the New Year safer.

If you host a celebration

Talk with guests ahead of time to set expectations for celebrating together.
Limit the number of guests.
Keep celebrations outdoors, if possible.
If indoors, open windows and doors. Use a window fan to blow air out, which will pull fresh air in through the open windows.
Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces and items between use.
Have guests bring their own food, drinks, plates, cups, and utensils.
Have extra unused masks available for your guests and encourage everyone to wear them inside and outside.
Keep background music volume low so guests don’t need to shout.
It’s okay if you decide to postpone or cancel your gathering. Do what’s best for you.

If you attend a celebration

It’s okay if you decide to stay home and remain apart from others. Do what’s best for you.
If traveling for a celebration, know what to do before, during, and after travel.
Bring your own food, drinks, and disposable plates, cups, and utensils.
Wear a mask indoors and outdoors and safely store your mask while eating and drinking.
Avoid alcohol and drugs that can alter judgement and make it difficult to practice COVID-19 safety measures.
Avoid shouting and singing.
Avoid areas where food is prepared, such as the kitchen.
Use single-use options, like condiment packets.

Consider Other Activities to Celebrate New Year’s

Have virtual celebrations with loved ones
Attend a virtual concert or performance.
Plan a virtual countdown to midnight with friends.
Enjoy a virtual dinner or dessert with friends and family.

Plan a New Year’s party for the people you live with

Decorate, play music, and have a dance party with the people you live with.
Have a pajama party and watch your favorite movies or play games.
Plan a special meal or dessert with your family.

Reach out to family, friends, and neighbors

Call, text, or leave a voicemail for family, friends, and neighbors wishing them a happy new year.
Call friends and family to count down to the new year together.
Plan a neighborhood countdown to midnight. People who live with each other can stand in front of their house and cheer together at midnight.

Other ideas

Watch a livestreamed firework display, concert, First Night event, or other New Year’s programming from your home, such as the Times Square New Year’s Eve ball drop. Virtual events are happening across the United States.
Take care of yourself and do something you enjoy, such as reading a book or taking a walk.
Pick up a special meal from a local restaurant to share with your household.
Plan an outdoor activity with people you live with such as a hike or sledding.
Set new year resolutions. Find out if your hometown is sponsoring a special social media event and share your resolutions.

Georgia Department of Public Health Daily Status Report

Dec. 30 Case Update for Athens-Clarke County

The Wednesday, December 30 update shows an increase of 378 positive cases and 4 deaths since Wednesday, December 23.

Cumulative case counts from February are no longer being displayed on the graphic. For reference, here are the cumulative numbers from the beginning of each month:

December 1 - 6,732
November 1 - 5,872
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. The Daily Status Report is available at https://dph.georgia.gov/covid-19-daily-status-report.

Positive UGA COVID-19 Tests Reported Through DawgCheck - Week 18 (Dec. 14-20)

The University of Georgia DawgCheck tool gives members of the campus community the ability to self-monitor and to facilitate information sharing internally and with the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH). Any student or employee with a positive COVID-19 test is required to report the test in DawgCheck.

Due to winter break, UGA did not post results of COVID-19 tests for the week of Dec. 21-28.

Northeast Health District Weekly Report - December 28

The Georgia Department of Public Health's (DPH) Northeast Health District produces a weekly COVID-19 testing report for the 10-county district that covers Athens-Clarke, Barrow, Elbert, Greene, Jackson, Madison, Morgan, Oconee, Oglethorpe, and Walton counties.

Athens-Clarke County's page of the report is shown in the first of the two charts below, while the second one shows the previous week's report for comparison purposes.

Current and Previous Week's Reports

Northeast Health District County Report - Athens-Clarke County - Dec. 28

Georgia Department of Public Health Northeast Health District Weekly Report

The newest weekly report for Dec. 28 was released on Wed., Dec. 30

The report includes county-by-county information about:

Total number of PCR tests performed by all providers reported to DPH
Percent of total tested with positive results
Positive cases per 100,000 total population
Cumulative number hospitalized
Percent of positive cases requiring hospitalization
Cumulative deaths
Percent of positive cases who died
Deaths per 100,000 total population
Positive cases by race/ethnicity and age (from tests performed by the Northeast Health District only - does not include other providers)

While reports are dated on Monday and use data for the previous week, the reports will usually be posted on Wednesday due to the time required to assemble and confirm the report.

The report is available each week at: publichealthathens.com/wp/programs/infectious-disease/coronavirus-covid-19-information/athens-district-covid-data/

Frequency of Updates

This coronavirus email / text update is sent weekly during normal weeks, usually on Wednesdays, 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.