COVID-19

Coronavirus Updates: Kemp Closes Public Schools and Colleges

March 16th, 2020

Gov. Brian Kemp announced Monday that all public schools and universities in the state will be closed.

Elijah Nouvelage / Associated Press

Updated Monday at 7:16 p.m.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is closing all public schools and colleges until at least March 31 to fight the spread of the coronavirus.

The Republican governor made the announcement Monday, though most public schools in the state have already closed down on their own.

Kemp says the move is critical to reduce the spread of the virus that causes the COVID-19 respiratory illness.

The state university system says its 26 universities and colleges will not resume in-person instruction for the spring semester. It will instead shift as many classes as online “with extremely limited exceptions.” The University System of Georgia says students can’t return to campus without university permission, and dorms will be closed except for students unable to return home.

Atlanta Mayor Bans Gatherings Of 50+ People

No more than 50 people will be allowed at public gatherings in the city of Atlanta – on orders from Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.

Appearing on WABE’s “Closer Look,” the mayor said she understands how hard this will hit the restaurant industry and she’s meeting with representatives.

“I am also going to have telephone calls with our restaurant organizations statewide that represent our restaurant owners throughout the state and have a conversation with them based on the information that I’m receiving from our public health partners,” she said. “I can’t stress enough how serious this.”

The Mayor suggested the use of food delivery services, like Uber Eats or Door Dash can be used by restaurants to help keep them up and running during the crisis.

This new guidance is a change to the order signed Sunday that limited gatherings to 250 people.

The mayor told WABE Monday that she had already made the decision to limit crowds to that number when she got additional guidance from health experts.

“Literally as I was signing the state of emergency for the city of Atlanta and going down to the number of 250 no sooner than I announced it than we started getting the CDC recommendations,” she said.

State Lawmakers Confirm Powers For Governor

In an unprecedented day in Georgia history, both chambers of the General Assembly have nearly unanimously confirmed Gov. Brian Kemp’s request to enter into a state of public health emergency.

The declaration, effective immediately, gives Kemp broad powers to free up more resources to fight the pandemic, including compelling health care facilities to provide services, enforcing evacuations and mandating quarantine and vaccination through April. At that time, Kemp would have to renew the state of emergency, and the General Assembly would ratify the renewal through another special session. If they cannot convene for whatever reason, Kemp will be able to renew it unilaterally.

Read more here >>

Emory Healthcare Postpones Elective Surgeries

One of metro Atlanta’s largest healthcare systems says it’s postponing all elective surgeries in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Emory Healthcare is also restricting access to visitors.

Emory Healthcare says, as of now, all inpatient and outpatient elective procedures will be put off for two weeks.

The health system says it will also postpone all elective outpatient clinic visits for two weeks starting Tuesday.

After that, it’s taking things on a week-to-week basis.

Emory has also imposed restrictions on visitors to its hospital facilities. Grady, Northside, Piedmont, and Wellstar hospitals have taken similar measures.

Food Bank Preps For Demand

The Atlanta Community Food Bank is preparing for a spike in demand, now that people are putting social distancing measures into place.

The Food Bank is buying more food and preparing to set up mobile pantries.

The organization is also working with Atlanta Public Schools, Clayton County Schools, DeKalb County Schools Fulton County Schools, and Marietta City Schools — to give families groceries to take home when they come to pick up meals.

And the foodservice industry in Georgia is feeling the effects of Covid-19 and social distancing. Karen Bremer, CEO of the Georgia Restaurant Association, said her group is asking for support for restaurants from officials as business around the state has gone down. That could take the form of pushing for temporary rent or mortgage relief, she said, or assistance in getting small business disaster loans moving.

“Friday started out being 10 to 25 percent down; Saturday proceeded to being 50 to as much as 70 percent down,” she said. “It was a little bit better on Sunday, more like 40 to 50 percent off.”

Bremer said about half a million people in Georgia work in the foodservice industry, making up about ten percent of Georgia’s workforce.

Bryan Schroeder, executive director of the Giving Kitchen, an Atlanta-based non-profit that supports food service workers, said he’s already heard about layoffs and expects more to come.

“We’re in a lot of hurt,” he said. Even with restaurants technically still open in most places in Georgia, there’s a lot of pain.”

State and local officials have not ordered bars and restaurants to be closed here, but it has happened in other states.

Chick-fil-A Closes Dining Rooms

Chick-fil-A is temporarily closing all its dining rooms.

In an attempt to curb the spread of coronavirus, the Georgia based fast-food giant issued a statement that it will only offer services through drive-thrus, with some restaurants offering takeout or delivery.

Georgia –unlike some states– hasn’t yet banned gatherings of 50 or more people or ordered restaurants to close its dining rooms.