May 5, 2021 Update

WATCH: Message from Mayor Girtz

Watch a new video message from Athens-Clarke County Mayor Kelly Girtz about the Fiscal Year (FY) 22 Mayor's Recommended Budget, reminding all residents to get vaccinated if eligible, and providing information about programs and resources for residents and business owners dealing with the effects of the pandemic.

FY22 Mayor's Recommended Budget: www.accgov.com/budget
COVID-19 & Vaccine Information: www.accgov.com/coronavirus
Restaurant Revitalization Fund, Shuttered Venues Grant & other small business COVID-19 relief options at www.sba.gov

Coronavirus COVID-19 Update: Mayor and Commission

Mask Requirement Continued in 16th Declaration of Local Emergency Approved by Mayor & Commission through June 13

The Mayor and Commission approved a 16th declaration of a local state of emergency at their Regular Session on May 4, 2021. The declaration is in effect through June 13, 2021 unless extended, rescinded, superseded, or altered by the Mayor and Commission.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 June 13, 2021.

The full 16th declaration of a local emergency is available at www.accgov.com/coronavirus (direct link to document).

Georgia Department of Public Health Daily Status Report

May 5 Case Update for Athens-Clarke County

The Wednesday, May 5 update shows an increase of 52 positive cases and 0 deaths since Wednesday, April 28.

As of May 5, 27.1% of ACC residents were fully vaccinated.

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

May 1, 2021 - 12,752
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. The statewide Vaccination Dashboard is available at https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/3d8eea39f5c1443db1743a4cb8948a9c.

Northeast Health District Weekly Report - May 3

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..

The newest weekly report for May 3 was released on Wed., May 5.

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: https://publichealthathens.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/NEHD-COVID-Weekly-Report-04262021.pdf.

Positive UGA COVID-19 Tests Reported Through DawgCheck - Week 37 (April 26 - May 2)

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 April 26 include a total of 104 COVID-19 tests; 4 were positive and 100 were negative. The positivity rate was 3.8%.
For the week of April 26, 67% of the tests in the “Other” category were performed in Athens-Clarke and its 5 adjoining counties, and the remaining 33% were located elsewhere in the state. No students reported a test done outside of the state. No 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.