Department of Public Health launches new COVID dashboard
♦ For married couples in the U.S., the pandemic has posed a host of new tests, bringing some closer, tearing others apart
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One new death resulting from COVID-19 has been reported in Gordon County since last Thursday, bringing the total number of deaths in the county since the pandemic began to 85.
During the same period, the Department of Public Health reported that there were 105 new confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 in the county. Statewide, the week saw 12,015 new confirmed positive cases of coronavirus and 398 new deaths.
These numbers come as the Georgia Department of Public Health continues efforts to vaccinate as many eligible Georgians as possible. As part of this effort, DPH launched a new COVID vaccine dashboard on its website, www. dph.georgia.gov, on Monday.
The dashboard, which will update daily at 3 p.m., is set to include information about the number of vaccine doses administered in the state broken out by first and second doses, the number of doses administered separated by county and day, the number of doses administered by Georgia providers per 100,000 residents, race and ethnicity data of recipients, the total number of doses that have been shipped to Georgia from the federal government, the number of Georgia providers that have received vaccines from the federal allocation and the percentage of doses shipped to Georgia and administered to its citizens.
In addition to offering information about the vaccine and its administration, the DPH recommends that residents:
♦ Listen to and follow the directions of your state and local authorities.
♦ If you feel sick, stay home. Do not go to work. Contact your medical provider.
♦ If your children are sick, keep them at home. Do not send them to school. Contact your medical provider.
♦ If someone in your household has tested positive for the coronavirus, keep the entire household at home. Do not go to work. Do not go to school. Contact your medical provider.
♦ If you are an older person, stay home and away from other people.
♦ If you are a person with a serious underlying health condition that can put you at increased risk (for example, a condition that impairs your lung or heart function or weakens your immune system), stay home and away from other people.
♦ Even if you are young, or otherwise healthy, you are at risk and your activities can increase the risk for others. It is critical that you do your part to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
For more information on local and statewide COVID-19 information, visit dph.georgia.gov for the Georgia Department of Public Health Daily Status Report.
For many U.S. couples yearning to be married, the pandemic has wreaked havoc on their wedding plans while bolstering their teamwork and resilience. For couples already married, it has posed a host of new tests, bringing some closer, pulling others apart.
Spending more time together — a common result of lockdowns, furloughs and layoffs — has been a blessing for some couples who gain greater appreciation of one another. For other spouses, deprived of opportunities for individual pursuits, the increased time together “may seem more like a house arrest than a fantasy,” suggested Steve Harris, a professor of marriage and family therapy at the University of Minnesota and associate director of a marriage counseling project, Minnesota Couples on the Brink.
Gregory Popcak, a psychotherapist in Steubenville, Ohio, who specializes in marriage counseling for Catholics, says the pandemic has been particularly troublesome for spouses whose coping strategies have been disrupted.
“For couples who had a tendency to use their business to avoid problems, the pandemic has made things infinitely worse,” he said. “The lockdown has raised the emotional temperature a few notches . ... Things that were provocative before are now catastrophic.”
Overall, people have become more cautious amid the pandemic, said sociologist W. Bradford Wilcox, director of the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia.
“This caution is making them less likely to get divorced, less
likely to get married, less likely to have a child,” he said.
Comprehensive national statistics on marriage and divorce during the pandemic won’t be compiled for many months, but the numbers available thus far from a few states suggest there’s a notable decline in each category.
In Oregon, divorces in the pandemic months of March through December were down about 24% from those months in 2019; marriages were down 16%. In Florida, for the same months, divorces were down 20% and marriages were down 27%. There also were decreases, though smaller, in Arizona.
One reason for fewer divorces: In many states, access to courts for civil cases was severely curtailed during the pandemic’s early stages. Another reason, according to marriage counselors, is that many couples backed off from a possibly imminent divorce for fear it would only worsen pandemic-fueled financial insecurity.
The Rev. Russ Berg, who runs a faith-based marriage counseling ministry in Minneapolis, tries to encourage that kind of hesitancy among
the couples he advises.
“Some come in saying they’re overwhelmed, fighting over finances, their kids’ education,” Berg said. “Without going to work, they don’t have that buffer of being physically gone. They feel they’re on top of each other.”
“I try to put it in perspective, that everyone is stressed out right now and it’s not a good time to make decisions about the future of your marriage,” he said. “I say, ’Let’s work on it for six months and make sure you don’t add the pain of regret to the pain of divorce. Explore all your options before you decide.”
For countless couples on the brink of marriage, the pandemic plunged fine-tuned wedding plans into disarray due to restrictions on large gatherings and wariness about long-distance travel.
In San Diego, Kayleigh and Cody Cousins initially planned an April wedding, postponed it after the pandemic took hold, rescheduled it for December, then had to shift gears again when a new lockdown was imposed.
“That was devastating,” said Kayleigh. “We said, ‘Let’s just
do it on Zoom.’”
So they set up an altar at home, recruited a friend to officiate virtually, and had a wedding ceremony Dec. 27 watched remotely by about 40 of their friends and family.
Professionally, Kayleigh helps her husband run a tree-cutting service, so they understand each other’s work demands. For many couples, there’s work-related friction.
Danielle Campoamor, a freelance writer in New York City, says she and her partner of seven years find themselves arguing frequently as the pandemic complicates the challenges of raising their two children and earning needed income. She works from home; he commutes to an Amazon fulfillment center.
“He goes to work for 12hour shifts,” said Campoamor, 34. “I’m left alone helping my 6-year-old with online learning, potty-training my 2-yearold, cooking and cleaning.
“There are days when I think, ‘Yes, we can do this,’ and other days I say, ‘No way that I can do this,’” she said. “We don’t have time to discuss our relationship, to work on improving it, or on separating.
Sometimes I don’t have the capacity to remember what day it is.”
Atlanta-based attorney Elizabeth Lindsey, president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, says she and other divorce lawyers generally have kept busy, in some cases grappling with pandemic-related complications regarding child visitation rights.
She expects there will be pentup demand for divorces once the COVID-19 threat eases.
“Plenty of people I’ve consulted with were not ready to pull the trigger during the pandemic,” she said.
Recent months have been busier than usual for Louise Livesay, a lawyer in St. Paul, Minnesota, who specializes in collaborative divorce — a process in which the spouses are represented by attorneys seeking to negotiate outcomes fair to both parties.
Livesay said the stresses of the pandemic exacerbated existing strains in some marriages, pushing couples toward divorce. But she said many of her clients were eager to avoid contentious litigation and were open to equitable financial arrangements.
“I found people to be a bit more willing to work toward solutions when things are difficult,” she said.
For some couples, a jarring consequence of the pandemic has been the discovery by one spouse that the other was cheating on them.
“It has brought to light a lot of extramarital affairs that people couldn’t hide anymore,” said Harris, at the University of Minnesota. “Maybe they would meet on the way to or from work. Now they’re texting, and the other spouse asks: ’Who are you texting?’”
For other couples, a key problem is loss of their prepandemic routines.
Harris described one troubled couple who entered marriage counseling a year ago, just before the pandemic took hold.
Now, the wife feels pressure to keep working, Harris said, while the husband tries to help their children with online schoolwork even though his teaching skills aren’t great. His beloved adult hockey league has shut down.
“They’re in this relationship that’s struggling, and all their coping mechanisms are stripped away,” Harris said. “My heart breaks for them.”
In the Catholic diocese of Arlington, Virginia, psychologist Michael Horne, who counsels couples on behalf of Catholic Charities, has observed one heart-warming development that he attributes partly to the pandemic. There are now 20 couples enrolled in the agency’s adoption program, up from seven a year ago.
“Having more time together has afforded couples time to have those really important conversations,” he said. “What does it mean to be a family?”
February
The Calhoun City Council will hold their next regularly scheduled meeting Monday, Feb. 22, at 7 p.m. downtown at the depot, 109 S. King St.
The Calhoun City Schools Board of Education will hold their next regularly scheduled meeting Monday, Feb. 22, at 6 p.m. at the central office building downtown, 334 S. Wall St.
The Gordon County Board of Commissioners will hold their next regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday, Feb. 23, at 6 p.m. at the County Administration Building, 201 N. Wall St.
Coffee with Cardiologists, a virtual Q&A with Harbin Clinic cardiologists will take place Wednesday, Feb. 24, a 8 a.m., in partnership with the Gordon County Chamber of Commerce. Register online at harbinclinic. formstack.com/forms/coffee_with_ cardiologists.
Ties & Tiaras Daddy Daughter Dance will take place Saturday, Feb. 27, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Sonoraville Recreation Complex, 7494 Fairmount
Highway. The event includes free dinner and dancing, as well as a photo shoot. To RSVP, call 706-602-4435.
March
The Gordon County Board of Education will hold their next regularly scheduled meeting Monday, March 8, at the Gordon County College and Career Academy, 305 Beamer Road. Work session begins at 6:15 with the meeting following directly after.
The second annual Calhoun Recreation Department Miracle Run will take place Saturday, March 20, at 10 a.m. starting at the Black and Yellow Park playground pavilion. Registration is $20 and includes a Tshirt. The event benefits the Winner’s Club and Camp New Adventure. For more information call 706-629-0177.
Gordon Central High School Baseball is hosting a golf tournament Wednesday, March 31, at Fields Ferry, 581 Fields Ferry Drive. Lunch will be served at 11 a.m. with the four person scramble beginning at noon in a shotgun start. Cost is $100 per person.
Ongoing
Tallatoona Community Action Partnership Inc. is hosting “Pathway to Empowerment,” a program that provides services and supports individuals and their families who are committed to changing their lives. Families can receive training and guidance regarding career pathways, education, financial literacy, job training and life skills development. The CAP program is by appointment only. Contact the Gordon County location at 770-817-4666 for additional information.
City of Calhoun Recreation Department 2021 baseball and softball registration will continue through Feb. 25 in person at 601 S. River St., or online at CalhounRec.com for boys and girls ages 5-14. Age cutoff is Sept. 1, 2021 and the registration fee is $50. Call 706-629-0177 or email LCarter@ CalNet-GA.net for more information.
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NEW YORK — Mike Soroka argued his salary arbitration case with the Atlanta Braves on Friday, arguing for a raise from $583,500 to $2.8 million while the team maintained the right-hander should be paid $2.1 million.
A decision by arbitrators Frederic Horowitz, Margaret Brogan and Robert Herzog is expected Saturday.
Soroka, 23, was 0-1 with a 3.95 ERA in three starts during the pandemicshortened season. His year ended when he tore his right Achilles tendon while pitching against the New York Mets on Aug. 3. Soroka had surgery four days later and hopes to be ready for opening day.
Decisions also are pending for St. Louis right-hander Jack Flaherty and for Tampa Bay left-hander Ryan Yarbrough.
Flaherty, 25, asked for a raise from $604,500 to $3.9 millionm and the Cardinals argued for $3 million to arbitrators Howard Edelman and Steven Wolf and Walt De Treux.
Flaherty was 4-3 with a 4.91 ERA in nine starts, striking out 49 and walking 16 in 40 1/3 innings. He was eligible for arbitration for the first time.
Yarbrough asked for a raise from $578,500 to $3.1 million and the AL champion Rays argued for $2.3 million.
The case was heard over Zoom by arbitrators Allen Ponak, Mark Burstein and Jules Bloch.
A 29-year-old left-hander, Yarbrough was 1-4 with a 3.56 ERA in nine starts and two relief appearances, striking out 44 and walking 12 in 55 2/3 innings.
He was 1-0 with a 3.68 ERA in two postseason starts and five relief appearances, helping the Rays reach the World Series, where they lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
In three cases decided thus far, the New York Mets defeated third baseman and outfielder J.D. Davis, the Baltimore Orioles beat outfielder Anthony Santander, and first baseman Ji-Man Choi defeated the Tampa Bay Rays.
Four players remain scheduled for hearings next week: Los Angeles catcher Austin Barnes, Chicago Cubs outfielder Ian Happ, San Francisco second baseman Donovan Solano and Atlanta shortstop Dansby Swanson.