March 10, 2021 Update

Georgia Expands COVID Vaccine Eligibility Beginning March 15, 2021

Georgia will expand its vaccine eligibility on March 15, 2021, to include adults aged 55 and older and individuals with disabilities and certain medical conditions.

Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities are already eligible for
vaccination. This expansion now includes disabilities caused by an injury (e.g., traumatic brain injury or spinal cord injury), a disability due to a longstanding condition that could cause vision loss, nerve damage or loss of a limb, or a disability due to illness such as ALS or multiple sclerosis.

The medical conditions referenced are:

Asthma (moderate to severe)
Cancer
Cerebrovascular disease
Chronic kidney disease
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Cystic Fibrosis
Diabetes
Hypertension or high blood pressure
Heart conditions
Immunocompromised
Liver disease
Neurologic conditions
Overweight and obesity
Pregnancy
Pulmonary fibrosis
Sickle Cell Disease
Thalassemia (blood disorder)

To find a vaccine location near you or to schedule an appointment, log on to
https://dph.georgia.gov/covid-vaccine.

For individuals aged 16 and 17 who are in an eligible population for vaccination, Pfizer is the only vaccine currently approved for these ages. Please schedule an appointment at CVS or Walgreens or at one of the GEMA mass vaccination sites to ensure Pfizer vaccine is available to you.

Georgia Department of Community Affairs Announces Rental Assistance Program

The State of Georgia received $552 million from the U.S. Treasury's Federal Emergency Rental Assistance Program to provide relief to individuals, families, and landlords whose finances have been negatively impacted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) will administer the State of Georgia Rental Assistance Program (GRA), and the online portal to determine eligibility and submit applications is now available.

GRA offers financial assistance to eligible tenants, their landlords, and utility providers to cover activities including rent arrears, current and future rent payments, and utility arrears payments. Payment will be made directly to the landlords and utility providers. Payments generally may not exceed 12 months, but some households may qualify for a total of 15 months under certain circumstances.

GRA can serve renter households in Georgia who meet the following conditions:

Qualified for unemployment benefits OR experienced a reduction in household income, incurred significant costs, or experienced other financial hardship due directly or indirectly to COVID-19
Demonstrates a risk of experiencing homelessness or housing instability
Has a household income at or below 80 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI), with priority given to: 1) households below 50 percent of the AMI, or 2) households with one or more individuals who have been unemployed 90 days or longer at the time of application

The CDC Eviction Moratorium has been extended until March 31, meaning that no one should be evicted solely for non-payment of rent until that date. Visit GeorgiaLegalAid.org for more information.

To determine GRA eligibility and apply, visit GeorgiaRentalAssistance.ga.gov.

COVID-19 Response Update - March 9, 2021 Work Session

COVID-19 Update at Mayor & Commission March 9 Work Session

Most months, Manager Blaine Williams provides the Mayor and Commission - and the community - with summary updates about the ACCGov and community response to COVID-19.

These updates take place at the Work Session meetings, which are opportunities for the Mayor and Commission to discuss fewer items in a more in-depth fashion.

Georgia Department of Public Health Daily Status Report

March 10 Case Update for Athens-Clarke County

The Wednesday, March 10 update shows an increase of 106 positive cases and 4 deaths since Wednesday, March 3.

For reference, here are the cumulative numbers from the beginning of each month:

March 1, 2021 - 12,004
February 1, 2021 - 11,162
January 1, 2021 - 8,580
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 29 (March 1-7)

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.

Last Five Weeks of Tests

Positive COVID-19 Tests Reported Through DawgCheck

Visit the UGA Health Center Website with these graphs and other updates.

The table above reflects the total number of positive test results reported through DawgCheck each week. It is updated every Wednesday. Please note the following:

Positive tests reported through DawgCheck are from any of the approximately 50,000 faculty, staff, and students connected to the University of Georgia, whether located in Athens, extended campuses, extension offices across the state, or even other states and countries for students who elected to take online classes.
The totals may include reports from individuals who have not been on campus recently, there may be delays in reporting, and the totals may even include individuals who have recovered.
Therefore, the data does not serve as an accurate barometer of the current status of COVID-19 at any point in time at any one of UGA’s campuses.
Since August 10, UGA has supported surveillance testing (Legion Field) for asymptomatic individuals and clinical (Health Center) testing resources for symptomatic students as a means of distancing the two populations and optimizing the use of Health Center staff and the facility. Because students are showing symptoms when they request a test at the Health Center, it is expected that it’s tests would have a significantly higher positivity rate than would be the case for those who are asymptomatic when tested.
Results of testing at the University Health Center for the week of March 1 include a total of 149 COVID-19 tests; 9 were positive and 140 were negative. The positivity rate was 6.0%.
For the week of March 1, 50% of the tests in the “Other” category were performed in Athens-Clarke and its 5 adjoining counties, and the remaining 50% were located elsewhere in the state. No students reported a positive test done outside of the state. One instructional faculty member reported a positive test.

DawgCheck and other University of Georgia-related COVID information is available at the University Health Center website at https://uhs.uga.edu/healthtopics/covid-19-health-and-exposure-updates.

Northeast Health District Weekly Report - March 8

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

Georgia Department of Public Health Northeast Health District Weekly Report

Northeast Health District County Report - Athens-Clarke County - March 1

The newest weekly report for March 8 was released on Wed., March 10

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.