Emory University’s Dr. Carlos del Rio urges Georgians to wear masks and keep distanced ahead of a potential COVID-19 surge during the winter holiday season on Nov. 13, 2020. (Emory University video)
A top public-health expert in Atlanta is calling for Georgians to double down on social distancing and cities to impose mask mandates amid a surge in COVID-19 infections ahead of the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.
Dr. Carlos del Rio, a leading Emory University epidemiologist, said Friday Georgia and states across the U.S. are entering a “perilous time” in the pandemic as virus-weary people gather for the holidays and a vaccine remains several months away.
“I think we really need to take this seriously,” Del Rio said in a news conference Friday. “The numbers clearly show us that we have to do something.”
Positive COVID-19 case rates in Georgia have crept up since Oct. 1 to more than 1,700 new daily cases on average after plummeting from a peak of more than 3,500 average daily cases in July, according to state Department of Public Health data.
Georgia’s recent case numbers haven’t spiked as much as other states in the U.S., which nationwide has seen more than 100,000 new cases each day over the past week and is projected to suffer tens of thousands more deaths without a clamp-down on health and distancing measures.
On Thursday, Gov. Brian Kemp noted Georgia is currently in better shape than other states but urged people to “remain vigilant” about distancing, wearing masks and washing hands this holiday season.
“We are still facing a once-in-a-century global pandemic, and we will continue to fight every day to keep Georgians safe and healthy,” Kemp said at a news conference in Covington.
Del Rio said that’s the right message for the governor to send: Don’t ignore the importance of distancing and masks to keep the virus’ spread in check. City and county officials should also require masks, while restaurants and bars should consider closing if they can’t tightly limit the number of patrons, he said.
“I think what we’ve been doing in Georgia is working but we need to not let the guard down,” Del Rio said. “Emphasize the fact that more masking, more social distancing, more avoiding crowded places is going to keep our cases down in Georgia.”
Del Rio also pressed for the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to take a more vocal role in communicating the need for safety measures, since he said a “leadership vacuum” has formed in the White House following President Donald Trump’s election loss last week.
“Communicating the message to the people on a regular basis through the media is a critical thing I think the CDC has to do right now,” Del Rio said.
Meanwhile, many Georgia hospitals have not yet seen the kind of COVID-19 surges occurring elsewhere in the U.S., though they are gearing up for a potential holiday spike. That’s the situation now at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany, which was hit hard by the virus in the pandemic’s early days.
“We are especially concerned about the potential for the virus to spread through upcoming holiday gatherings,” Phoebe Putney President and CEO Scott Steiner said Friday. “We urge you to plan now to ensure your family get-togethers are safe.”
More than eight months into the pandemic, health experts say a big risk is for people tired of keeping apart from each other to throw caution to the wind and bank on a vaccine arriving soon in the U.S.
De Rio said that would be a mistake. While he estimated hospital workers, first responders, elderly persons and those with chronic health issues could start receiving vaccines as early as January, widespread vaccine availability for the general public will likely not come until July or August. For now, the best course of action is to wear a mask and avoid large gatherings like holiday parties.
“If I was invited today to a party with 100 people,” Del Rio said, “I would politely say, ‘I’m sorry. I’m not doing that.’”
More than 380,000 people in Georgia had contracted COVID-19 as of Thursday afternoon. The virus had killed 8,403 Georgians.
ATLANTA – Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is self-isolating after his wife tested positive for coronavirus, Raffensperger’s office confirmed Thursday.
The news of the secretary of state’s potential exposure to COVID-19 came one day after he ordered a hand recount of the nearly 5 million ballots from Georgia’s tight presidential contest between President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden.
Having won enough electoral votes from other states to be declared president-elect, Biden has begun working on his transition to the White House, starting with his inauguration on Jan. 20.
However, the race in Georgia remains uncertain, with Biden leading Trump by more than 14,000 votes.
Earlier this week, Georgia’s two Republican senators, David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, demanded that Raffensperger resign for mismanaging the counting of the ballots. While dismissing those calls to step down, Raffensperger said he has not discovered any evidence of substantial ballot-casting fraud.
Raffensperger will be working from home while quarantining. Members of his staff who work in his Capitol office have all been advised to be tested and to work from home, according to the office’s established procedures.
The hand recount, which is due to start Friday and run until midnight next Wednesday, will not be affected by the quarantining, according to Raffensperger’s office.
County elections officials – not the secretary of state – will be recounting the ballots.
ATLANTA – The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation has released its 2021 list of “10 Places in Peril,” historic sites across the state either threatened by neglect or in danger of demolition or encroaching development.
The nonprofit organization’s 16th annual “Places in Peril” list, as was the case with its predecessors, is aimed at encouraging owners of the sites or historic preservation groups to invest in revitalizing the properties.
Here is this year’s list:
Ashby Street Theatre in Atlanta, one of the city’s first theaters serving the African American community.
Atlanta Eagle and Kodak buildings in Midtown Atlanta, originally built as expansive private homes in 1898 and 1905, respectively.
Blackshear City Jail, known locally as the old “Hanging Jail,” thought to be the third in a series of interior-gallows jailhouses in the South.
Cherry Grove Schoolhouse in Wilkes County, a rare surviving example of an early 20th century rural African American school building.
Cohutta African American Civil District in Whitfield County, consisting of three contiguous properties – two churches and a school.
Downtown Toomsboro in Wilkinson County, an old whistle stop on the Central Georgia Railroad between Macon and Savannah.
Kiah House Museum in Savannah, one of the first museums in Savannah started by African Americans in 1959, unoccupied for 20 years.
Old Monticello United Methodist Church, built in 1895 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Terrell County Courthouse, built in 1892 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, one of the tallest historic courthouses in Georgia.
Vineville Avenue Corridor in Macon, three-block historic residential district threatened by commercial development.
The annual Places in Peril list has a track record of getting results. Historic Griffin City Hall was fully rehabilitated this year after appearing on the list, while the Central State Hospital Depot in Milledgeville received a grant that will go toward a rehabilitation project.
Gov. Brian Kemp speaks with reporters outside Amazon’s new warehouse in Gwinnett County on Sept. 1, 2020. (Photo by Beau Evans)
Gov. Brian Kemp indicated Thursday he does not expect to call for deep budget cuts again after state-funded agencies slashed spending this year to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic in Georgia.
Speaking at Bridgestone Golf in Covington, Kemp said his administration does not “see a need for across-the-board cuts again this coming year” after state lawmakers squeezed agency budgets by about $2.2 billion starting July 1.
The governor’s comments came as he touted Georgia’s economic growth over the past year despite the harm inflicted by COVID-19, which has seen an uptick in positive case rates in recent weeks as officials and health experts brace for potential outbreaks during the winter holiday season.
“We are still facing a once-in-a-century global pandemic, and we will continue to fight every day to keep Georgians safe and healthy,” Kemp said Thursday.
State lawmakers passed a $25.9 billion budget for the 2021 fiscal year after Kemp initially ordered all agencies to reduce their budgets by 14% in May, then scaled back those cuts to 10% in late June as declines in tax revenues spurred by the pandemic showed signs of slowing.
Agencies in charge of schools, public health, mental-health services, state troopers, prisons and more swallowed the 10% cuts without undertaking widespread layoffs or furloughs, though many observers pushed to no avail for hiking the state’s tobacco tax and curbing tax breaks instead of spending cuts.
Since then, job growth has picked up in Georgia amid relaxed COVID-19 business restrictions while economic-development projects attracted more than $4.3 billion in investments from July through October, marking a 56% increase over the same four-month period last year, Kemp said.
Georgia has also held onto its AAA bond rating throughout the pandemic, another factor Kemp said gives him confidence more budget cuts won’t be needed when lawmakers meet in January to start hashing out revisions for this year’s fiscal budget and draft the budget for the 2022 fiscal year.
On Thursday, Kemp announced Georgia was picked again as the best state to do business by an industry magazine that has handed the state that distinction for eight years running now.
“This is certainly welcome news in these challenging times,” Kemp said.
Kemp has faced criticism since the summer for allowing businesses and gathering spots to reopen with fewer distancing restrictions than several other states have kept in place, as well as for declining to issue a statewide order to wear masks.
The governor has frequently defended his position to let Georgians adopt distancing and cleanliness practices largely on their own as a strategy to promote public-health safety without cratering the state’s economy.
Positive COVID-19 case rates in Georgia have crept up over the past month, a trend that has many local public-health experts concerned about a possible upcoming spike if people ignore distancing practices while celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Kemp sought to reassure Thursday that Georgia is prepared for any potential outbreaks, noting he is keeping in close contact with local hospitals and that the state’s COVID-19 case numbers so far remain much lower than they were during a peak in July.
“While we’re grateful Georgia is not currently seeing the challenges with [COVID-19] that other states across the country are, we have to continue to remain vigilant every day,” Kemp said.
More than 377,000 people in Georgia had contracted COVID-19 as of Thursday afternoon. The virus had killed 8,333 Georgians.
ATLANTA – First-time unemployment claims in Georgia fell significantly last week, continuing a downward trend that has helped the state Department of Labor catch up with a backlog of claims.
Initial claims declined by 13,426 during the week to 23,827.
After 34 weeks of paying out unemployment benefits since the coronavirus pandemic took hold in Georgia, the labor department has processed all of the more than 4 million state unemployment applications in the pipeline.
“Any delays [unemployed Georgians] are currently having regarding claims are not related to processing,” state Commissioner of Labor Mark Butler said Thursday. “We are processing claims at pre-COVID rates.”
Butler said eligibility determination, which takes place after a claim is processed, is the most frequent cause for a claimant to experience an extended wait.
“The claims that are taking awhile are the ones where there is a disagreement about the separation reason between the employer and the employee,” Butler said.
Jobless Georgians have received more than $15.7 billion in unemployment benefits since mid-March, more than the past 28 years combined. Last week, the labor department paid out more than $174 million in benefits.
The job sector accounting for the most initial unemployment claims last week was accommodation and food services with 4,768 claims. The administrative and support services sector was next with 2,506 claims, followed by manufacturing with 2,446.
More than 162,000 jobs are listed online at EmployGeorgia for Georgians to access, more than double the job listings back in April. The labor department offers online resources for finding careers, building a resume and assisting with other reemployment needs.
