Gov. Kemp changes, extends coronavirus restrictions as Georgia ramps up contact tracing
Gov. Brian Kemp announced he was extending some coronavirus restrictions for businesses during his press conference Tuesday, adding Georgia is expanding its contact tracing program and has received 30 cases of the anti-viral drug remdesivir
The announcement of the extended restrictions came before the state topped 35,000 confirmed coronavirus cases Wednesday.
“Many have warned of a second wave and asked if we are willing to change course if conditions decline,” Kemp said. “We will continue to track the numbers. ...We will take whatever action is necessary to protect the lives and the livelihoods of all Georgians.”
Coronavirus restrictions and guidelines extended, changed
Kemp’s new executive order takes effect on May 14 and is currently set to expire May 31. Bars, nightclubs and live performance venues will remain closed under the order. Aside from businesses deemed critical infrastructure, gatherings of more than 10 people aren’t allowed unless social distancing measures are in place.
Kemp announced some changes to restaurants and dining services. No more than 10 patrons for every 300 square feet will be allowed inside. Other required restaurant and dining safety measures include:
- Screening workers for signs of illness
- Ensuring sick workers stay home
- Implementing staggered shift
- Requiring workers to wear face coverings
- Increasing the distance between patrons and workers
- Not setting up salad bars or buffets unless a worker is providing customers with food and utensils.
- Not setting up self-serve condiment, drink or utensils stations
- Limiting party sizes at a table to 10 people
- Closing playgrounds
Under the order, food establishments such as retail or wholesale grocery stores are required to continue implementing measures that prevent the spread of COVID-19. Some of these measures include:
- Limiting the number of patrons to 50% fire capacity or eight people per 1,000 square feet
- Discouraging cash payments
- Allowing workers time to wash their hands
Kemp increased the number of people allowed in a classroom of a child care facility from 10 to 20 people. Summer camps, but not overnight camps, will be also be allowed to operate. Both must meet state guidelines, and guidance coming from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may change the state’s summer camp policy.
Guidelines for other businesses, gyms, tattoo parlors, movie theaters and bowling centers can be found in the governor’s executive order.
The state’s elderly residents, those living in a long-term care facility, and those with certain chronic medical conditions are required to shelter-in-place until 11:59 p.m. June 12.
State agencies will soon begin limited in-person operations. Kemp told reporters that more information on this would be given in the coming days.
The state is ramping up its contact tracing efforts
Nearly 250 people across the state are currently working on contact tracing efforts — a public health strategy used to identify people who may have come in contact with an infected person.
Current plans call for 1,000 contact tracers in the field in the coming weeks. The state will soon roll out a new online monitoring tool, the Healthy Georgia Collaborative, that allows residents to identify contacts and monitor symptoms. Health data entered will remain private, Kemp said.
Public health employees will interview patients and people who may have come into contact with an infected person. The contact tracing efforts will be critical to stopping the spread of the illness in Georgia, Kemp said.
“We need your help to defeat this virus,” he said.
Georgia’s long term care facilities account for a large portion of the state’s cases and deaths
Kemp told reporters Tuesday that staff and residents at long-term care facilities in the state account for nearly 19% of all positive cases. These residents also account for 49% of coronavirus-related deaths in Georgia.
The Georgia National Guard, at Kemp’s direction, has tested 46% of residents and 24% of staff at the state’s nursing homes. An estimated 46,000 people still need to be tested.
“The percentage of positive cases for COVID-19 continues to drop even as we ramping up our testing,” Kemp said. “Many health care facilities and labs are not reporting negative test results to the state. We are working with them to get this data collected and published. And as we aggressively test more nursing homes and long-term care facilities, we may see a sharper increase in positive test results.”
Georgia receives a shipment of anti-viral drug from federal government
State officials received a shipment of remdesivir, an experimental anti-viral medication that the United States Food and Drug Administration has authorized as a treatment for patients with severe cases of COVID-19, Kemp said Tuesday.
The state received 30 cases, or roughly 1,200 doses. Public health officials are working to determine how that drug will be distributed, Kemp said.
“While there is limited information known about the safety and effectiveness of using remdesivir to treat people in the hospital with COVID-19, the investigational drug was shown in a clinical trial to shorten the time to recovery in some patients,” according to the FDA.
This story was originally published May 12, 2020 at 6:26 PM.