August 26, 2022 Update

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

High COVID-19 Community Level in Athens-Clarke County Reinstates Mask Requirement, Other Measures

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has updated Athens-Clarke County's COVID-19 Community Level as High in its latest data report on Thursday, August 25, 2022. The report, which is updated weekly on Thursday nights, previously reported Athens-Clarke County's COVID-19 Community Level as Medium as of Thursday, August 18.

Based on the Mayor and Commission's extension of a local declaration of a local state of emergency at their Regular Session on August 2, 2022, masks are required in public spaces and private entities, with some limited exceptions, regardless of vaccination status when Athens-Clarke County is in a high community level.

Private entities must opt-in to the mask requirement as per an executive order from the governor. The current local declaration is scheduled to expire on September 7, 2022, unless renewed, amended, or rescinded by the Mayor and Commission.

The Athens-Clarke County Unified Government's (ACCGov) response policy requires all employees and members of the public, regardless of vaccination status, to wear face masks in any indoor, shared, or public ACCGov space and on Transit vehicles when Athens-Clarke County is in a period of high COVID-19 community level. Additionally, internal ACCGov operations during high community levels include capacity limitations for ACCGov buildings, in-person ACCGov meeting limitations, and distancing measures.

CDC looks at the combination of three metrics — new COVID-19 admissions per 100,000 population in the past 7 days, the percent of staffed inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients, and total new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 population in the past 7 days — to determine the COVID-19 community level.

New COVID-19 admissions and the percent of staffed inpatient beds occupied represent the current potential for strain on the health system. Data on new cases acts as an early warning indicator of potential increases in health system strain in the event of a COVID-19 surge. Using these data, the COVID-19 community level is classified as low, medium, or high.

For more information, visit www.accgov.com/coronavirus.

Free COVID-19 Mobile Vaccine Events

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

No appointment needed
Walk-ups welcome
No insurance required
No ID required
Vaccines for children 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.

Saturday, August 27

iServe Ministries Food Distribution
Kroger Parking Lot
2000 S Barnet Shoals Rd Athens,GA 30605
7:00-9:00 AM
All three adult, boosters, peds

Visit NEHD events website for event updates

Resources:

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

As of May 2022, this newsletter is sent to subscribers only on an irregular basis with significant local COVID-19 updates and news.