Shelter in place over
Capitol Beat News Service
Gov. Brian Kemp released most Georgians from the state’s shelter-in-place order after midnight Thursday except for people ages 65 and older, seniors living in long-term care facilities and persons with certain chronic health issues, the governor announced Thursday afternoon.
Older persons and the chronically ill, who health officials have stressed are most at risk for harmful effects from coronavirus, must remain sheltered-in-place through June 12.
Also on Thursday, Kemp outlined a series of social-distancing restrictions that Georgia businesses will need to continue following in the coming weeks, depending on the type of business. As it stands, those restrictions are poised to be lifted on 11:59 p.m. May 13.
Strict distancing rules limiting the number of customers and requiring vigorous sanitizing measures will remain in effect through May 13 for dine-in restaurants, gyms, barbershops and many other close-quarter establishments that were allowed to reopen as of Monday.
Bars, nightclubs, swimming pools and amusement parks will have to remain closed through May 13, after which they may also reopen unless Kemp moves to extend closure orders.
Georgians with chronic health conditions that the governor’s office listed are subject to the June 12 shelter-in-place order include those with chronic lung disease, moderate to severe asthma, severe heart disease, immunocompromised conditions, class III or severe obesity, and patients with diabetes, liver disease or chronic kidney disease undergoing dialysis.
SHELTER,
election, while about 207,000 absentee ballots were cast in Georgia in the 2016 presidential election.
The swell in absentee voting follows Raffensperger’s decision in late March to send absentee ballot request forms to all of Georgia’s nearly 7 million registered voters as concerns mounted over the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel strain of coronavirus that sparked a global pandemic.
Raffensperger has said the push for absentee ballots aims to curb in-person voting on Election Day and limit the chances for the virus to spread between voters and poll workers, who tend to be older adults more at risk from the harmful effects of COVID-19.
On top of the broader mailin effort, the State Election Board recently allowed county election officials to install drop-off boxes for voters to hand in their absentee ballots rather than mail them.
Raffensperger’s office has also organized a group of local district attorneys, solicitors general and county election officials to help investigators track down potential instances of absentee fraud in the primary.
“For that particular family, that’s all that was left on their side of the street. It was a total loss,” Raymond said.
The Hobbys also worked at one home where a cross had been carved from a tree stump to mark the passing of several members of that family. Another family member was undergoing surgery in Chattanooga at the time.
“We don’t know who the artist was, but that was a really nice memorial to honor that family,” said Janice.
She said one thing they learned from their volunteer experience is an appreciation of the temporary nature of life and a reminder about what is truly important.
Raymond said the people they encountered were grateful for their presence. He said other volunteers came from all over, including Gordon resident Jeff Freshour and workers from Fulton County, Tennessee and as far away as Chicago.
The couple said they are blessed to be healthy and to have the time to dedicate to helping those in need, noting that they know others would do the same if they needed the help. Janice said Matthew 5:16 was their go-to verse to motivate the couple during the effort.
“The lord says to let your light shine, so that men will see your good deeds and glorify the father in heaven,” said Janice. “So that was our motivation.”
For many Georgia residents and businesses, Kemp’s move Thursday looks to pare back a host of mandatory closures and restrictions on physical interactions that many health experts have credited with slowing the spread of coronavirus, but which have also prompted severely negative consequences for the state’s economy.
In a video Thursday, the governor reiterated he is basing the decision to lift most restrictions on encouraging data trends that show declining coronavirus transmission rates as well as efforts in recent weeks to ready hundreds of hospital beds for use during patient surge periods.
“The health and well-being of Georgians are my top priorities, and my decisions are based on data and advice from health officials,” Kemp said. “I will do what is necessary to protect the lives and livelihoods of our people.”
At a news conference Monday, the governor said the state largely has been following federal guidelines for deciding when to let businesses reopen, while also weighing input from local health officials and the dire financial situation facing many business
owners who have been shuttered for weeks.
Hundreds of thousands of Georgians have been out of work since March with nearly 1.4 million workers and their employers having filed unemployment claims as of last week, the state Department of Labor reported Thursday. The state budget is expected to be billions of dollars in the hole due to a steep drop in recent tax revenues.
On Monday, the state’s public health commissioner, Dr. Kathleen Toomey, said Georgia is on track to see a “plateauing” of positive COVID-19 cases, even though the state had not met all the federal guidelines for allowing businesses to reopen. She noted cases of reported flu-like illnesses as well as hospitalizations have been declining and that positive cases have fallen “as a percentage of total tests.”
“We will continue to closely monitor the data to ensure these encouraging patterns we are seeing continue to improve,” Toomey said in a video Monday night.
Many local health experts have shown skepticism toward relying on models published and updated daily on the state Department of Public Health’s website. They have pointed to other models and studies, some compiled by local university
researchers, that indicate Georgia could see a flare-up in coronavirus outbreaks if social restrictions are lifted sooner rather than later.
One study, released this week by the University of Georgia’s Center for the Ecology of Infectious Diseases, estimated that relaxing the social distancing measures in place since March could cause an additional 1,500 deaths from coronavirus in Georgia, plus tens of thousands more cases.
Another modeling tool, created by researchers at Georgia Tech and Harvard Medical School, predicts a second wave of COVID-19 cases and deaths could soon hit Georgia if social restrictions are loosened.
Meanwhile, Georgia Democratic leaders and lawmakers blasted Kemp on social media and in news releases Thursday afternoon. Sen. Nikema Williams, who chairs the Democratic Party of Georgia, accused the governor of “playing a dangerous game” with his decision Thursday.
“It is reckless and irresponsible for Kemp to use Georgians as the guinea pigs in a public health experiment that will go wrong,” said Williams, D-Atlanta. “Today’s decision will have consequences — for our overworked health systems, for our struggling essential workers, and for our lives.”