April 7, 2021 Update

Coronavirus COVID-19 Update: Mayor & Commission

Mask Requirement Continued in 15th Declaration of Local Emergency Approved by Mayor & Commission through May 16

The Mayor and Commission approved a 15th declaration of a local state of emergency at their Regular Session on April 6, 2021.

The declaration is in effect through May 16, 2021 unless extended, rescinded, superseded, or altered by the Mayor and Commission.

The sections of the declaration continue to include:

Requiring facial coverings or masks in entities or public places over the mouth and nose at all times where physical distancing measures may be difficult to maintain. Exceptions to the requirement are noted in the declaration.
Allowing establishments licensed to sell beer or wine on premises to sell unopened bottles, cans, or growlers of beer and wine for take-out consumption off premises.
Allowing patrons or employees at restaurants to transport, serve, or consume open container alcoholic beverages in an outdoor seating area within 100 feet of the outer wall of licensed premises or who are transporting alcoholic beverages across public streets, sidewalks or rights-of-way for the purpose of serving or consuming said beverages as described.
Allowing patrons or employees of retail liquor, beer, or wine by the drink establishments that are participating in the Outdoor Retail Area Program to transport, serve, or consume alcoholic beverages in any open container in an approved outdoor retail area or to transport alcoholic beverages across public streets, sidewalks, or rights-of-way for the purpose of serving or consuming in the approved outdoor retail area.
Extending the 2020 Occupation Tax for businesses from the April 1, 2020 deadline and the 2021 Occupation Tax for businesses from the April 1, 2021 deadline to May 16, 2021.

The full 15th declaration of a local emergency is available at www.accgov.com/coronavirus (direct link to document).

Vaccine Day for Clarke County School District Students Age 16+ & Their Parents

The Clarke County School District (CCSD) is coordinating a school-based student vaccination day with the Georgia Department of Public Health and AU/UGA Medical Partnership students. CCSD students who are ages 16 and up are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine at this clinic.

Students who are 18 years old will receive the one-dose Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) vaccine, while students who are 16 and 17 years old will receive the two-dose Pfizer vaccine. At least one parent must be present for students age 16 or 17.

While supplies last, the one-dose Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) vaccine will also be available to parents who accompany their student to the CCSD vaccine clinic.

The 1st CCSD student vaccine day will be held on Saturday, April 17 (10:00 AM - 1:00 PM) at the Clarke Central High School gym.

The 2nd dose of Pfizer will be given to 16 and 17 year old students on Saturday, May 8 (10:00 AM - 1:00 PM) at the Clarke Central High School gym.

Students who have pre-registered will receive a confirmed appointment time by email by Thursday, April 15. Students who have not pre-registered can do so through Tuesday, April 13 at noon through the COVID-19 Vaccine Registration Form for CCSD Students and, if appointments are available, they will be notified of an appointment time on Thursday, April 15.

Students and families who need transportation to and from the student vaccination event should fill out a transportation survey by Tuesday, April 13 at 5:00 PM. Transportation will contact them with a pickup time and location.

The COVID-19 vaccination is not required for CCSD students.

For more information, contact Amy Roark / roarka@clarke.k12.ga.us / 706-546-7721 Ext. 20752.

Georgia Department of Public Health Daily Status Report

April 7 Case Update for Athens-Clarke County

*** NEW *** Beginning with this first weekly report for April, the case update will also show the % of ACC residents fully vaccinated.

The Wednesday, April 7 update shows an increase of 71 positive cases and 3 deaths since Wednesday, March 31.

As of April 6, 14.3% of ACC residents were fully vaccinated.

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

April 1, 2021 - 12, 439
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.

Governor’s Statewide Executive Order for April 8-30

On March 31, 2021 Governor Kemp signed Executive Order 03.31.21.03, which rolls back many of the current COVID-19 restrictions in place statewide beginning April 8.

The order does continue to allow communities to implement Local Option Face Covering Requirements, which the Mayor and Commission extended on April 6, and to control terms of entry onto government property.

The Executive Order:

Eliminates the gatherings ban
Eliminates shelter-in-place requirements
Removes the critical infrastructure distinction and collapses all organization suggested measures into one main list, with a small number of additional industry-specific requirements remaining
Reduces any remaining distance requirements (i.e. distance between parties at restaurants, bars, and movie theaters, and between patrons of group fitness classes)
Eliminates the ability of law enforcement to close an organization for failure to comply with the Executive Order provisions

Read a PDF of the full April 8-30 order

Positive UGA COVID-19 Tests Reported Through DawgCheck - Week 33 (March 29 - April 5)

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 its 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 29 include a total of 108 COVID-19 tests; 16 were positive and 92 were negative. The positivity rate was 14.8%.
For the week of March 29, 45% of the tests in the “Other” category were performed in Athens-Clarke and its 5 adjoining counties, and the remaining 55% were located elsewhere in the state. Two students reported positive tests done outside of the state, and 2 students were from an unknown location. One instructional faculty members 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.

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.