December 29, 2021 Update

Mask Requirement in Athens-Clarke County

The 24th local declaration of emergency approved by the Mayor & Commission on December 7, 2021 continues to include a mask requirement.

The local emergency order currently includes a mask requirement in public spaces and private entities.
As per a statewide executive order issued by the governor, private entities must opt in to the requirement.
As per the local order, the mask requirement is enforced when the case rate is over 100 per 100,000 in the last 7 days per the CDC. As of December 29, 2021 the case rate is 574.30 per 100,000 in the last 7 days.

DPH Urges Georgians NOT to Go to Hospital Emergency Departments for COVID Testing

To help keep hospital emergency departments open to treat medical emergencies, individuals seeking COVID testing should not go to hospital emergency departments, unless they
are experiencing severe COVID-19 symptoms requiring urgent medical attention.

Asymptomatic individuals or individuals with mild symptoms should find testing sites other than hospital emergency departments.

COVID-19 testing locations are available throughout Georgia and can be found on the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) website at https://dph.georgia.gov/covidtesting.

We are working with our lab partners to expand testing hours and add testing sites, however, lines will continue to be long as thousands of Georgians want to get tested.

To help alleviate delays at testing sites, it is critical that people register BEFORE going to a DPH test site. Online registration (https://dph.georgia.gov/covidtesting) will help alleviate back-ups at test sites and free up staff to do more testing if they aren’t doing registration paperwork.

COVID vaccination is available statewide and is our best tool for ending this pandemic and reducing the overwhelming strain on the healthcare system and healthcare providers.

To find a COVID vaccination location, visit https://dph.georgia.gov/covid-vaccine. Georgians aged 5 and older are eligible for vaccination. Georgians 16 and older are eligible for boosters six months after completing their primary vaccine series of either Moderna or Pfizer (only Pfizer is authorized for booster doses in 16- and 17- year-olds) and two months after their J&J vaccine.

Basic prevention measures should also be followed to help prevent further spread of COVID and mitigate outbreaks of infection, especially in public settings: wear a mask, physically distance, and wash your hands frequently with soap and water.

COVID-19 Cases, Admissions, Deaths & Vaccinations in Athens-Clarke County

Positive UGA COVID-19 Tests Reported Through DawgCheck

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.

For the week of December 20, data was unavailable due to UGA's holiday closure.

Clarke County School District COVID-19 Dashboard - December 29, 2021

The CCSD COVID-19 Dashboard displays positive cases in the past 14 days and 30 days across the district and by each school, with hourly updates.

Note: Clarke County School District classes ended on December 17 for the fall semester.

As of 6:30 PM on December 29, 2021, the dashboard shows:

47 confirmed cases in December 2021 (44 on Dec. 22 report)
32 confirmed cases in November 2021
69 confirmed cases in October 2021
307 confirmed cases in September 2021
48 confirmed cases in the past 30 days (51 on Dec. 22 report)
12 new confirmed cases in the past two weeks (27 on Dec. 22 report)
0.6% of students and staff with confirmed cases in the last 30 days (0.5% on Dec. 22 report)
0.1% of students and staff currently in quarantine (0.1% on Dec. 22 report)

Clarke County School District COVID-19 Dashboard

Free COVID-19 Vaccine Events

Below are some upcoming opportunities for free vaccinations from the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) Northeast Health District (NEHD). (Schedules subject to change by NEHD - verify information on the NEHD website.)

No appointment needed
Walk-ups welcome
No insurance required
No ID required
$100 gift card incentive program for eligible participants
Vaccines for 5 to 11-year-olds are available at the county health department clinics – they may not be available via the mobile outreach events unless specifically noted.
Anyone under 18 years of age MUST have a parent present or a signed consent form.

None currently scheduled (check website for updates)

School COVID Vaccine Events

None currently scheduled (check website for updates)

Parents who wish to have their child vaccinated at a school-based event must return a signed consent form.

The Athens-Clarke County COVID-19 vaccine incentive program provides $100 gift cards for those who live, work or attend school in Athens-Clarke County. The incentive program for first doses has ended for now. If you have previously (on or after September 3) received your first dose at the Clarke County Health Department or one of their outreach events, you are still eligible for the incentive for your second dose.

Upcoming event listings are updated every Friday online on the NEHD website

Resources:

Learn more about the COVID-19 vaccines at bit.ly/NEHDCOVIDVaccine.
PublicHealthIsForEveryone.com
Clarke County Health Department on Facebook