Friday, July 31, 2020

Governor Extends State Of Emergency

Governor Kemp extended the state’s Public Health State of Emergency and existing COVID-19 safety measures by signing two executive orders Friday.

Kemp said, “The fight against COVID-19 continues, and these executive orders reaffirm our commitment to protect the lives and livelihoods of all Georgians. As our state ramps up testing, expands hospital surge capacity, and provides staffing, supplies, and resources to cities and counties throughout Georgia, we urge local officials to enforce the rules and restrictions detailed in these orders. When businesses, restaurants, venues, and citizens follow the guidelines carefully crafted by data, science, and the Georgia Department of Public Health, we will take our next measured step forward.”

The first of the orders expires at 11:50 pm on August 15th, it requires social distancing, bans gatherings of more than 50 people unless there is six feet between each person, outlines mandatory criteria for businesses and requires sheltering in place for those living in long-term care facilities and the medically fragile. 

The second order expires at 11:59 pm on September 10th, it allows for enhanced coordination across government, the private sector for supply procurement, comprehensive testing, and healthcare capacity.

To read the entire order, click HERE

July COVID-19 Summary

The state has reported a total of 105,061 positive test for the month of July, a 129.24% increase over the 81,291 reported in March, April, May and June combined.

The 740,809 new COVID-19 test this month is an 88.84% increase over the prior four months recorded on June 30th. The positive rate is 14.18%, up from 9.29% in June.

There were 947 deaths in July, second only to April when 1,007 were recorded.

The age group experiencing the highest number of positive cases is between 18 and 29 while the highest mortality rate is still in the above 80 age group.

Six of the twelve counties in the Fun 101 listening area saw increases over 100% in July, Fayette county had the highest at 169.21% and the most fatalities with 7.

County
July
Cases
%
Increase
Deaths
Upson
116
32.68
2
Pike
96
106.67
1
Spalding
437
109.25
6
Lamar
104
90.43
3
Monroe
248
155.00
6
Butts
186
67.88
4
Meriwether
164
89.62
3
Talbot
49
67.12
1
Taylor
41
146.43
0
Crawford
46
109.52
0
Coweta
629
94.3
4
Fayette
577
169.21
7

The highest number of cases and the highest number of deaths were reported on July 24th with 4,813 cases and 82 deaths.

The number of cases increased each full week of the month:

July 7th       19,179
July 14th     23,493
July 21st     25,025 
July 28th     26,064

Friday COVID-19 Report

The number of confirmed cases in Georgia is 186,352, the number of deaths is 3,752, Hospitalizations 18,689, ICU admissions 3,414.

The number of new cases reported today is 4,066. The mortality rate is 2.01%.

Pike, Butts and Coweta counties reported 1 death each.

Fulton county has the highest number of cases with 17,646 and the highest number of deaths with 389.

County
Cases
Deaths
New
Cases
Upson
471
45
 11 
Pike
186
4
 6 
Spalding
837
38
 14 
Lamar
219
9
2
Monroe
408
23
 4 
Butts
460
37
16
Meriwether
347
5
3
Talbot
122
3
 -1 
Taylor
69
2
 1 
Crawford
88
0
  1  
Coweta
1,296
19
 21 
Fayette
918
24
20
Unknown
2,311
6


The Georgia Department of Health releases updated information daily at 3 pm.

For the complete report, click HERE

Thursday, July 30, 2020

UGA OFFICIALS COMMENT ON NEW FOOTBALL SCHEDULE W/O GA TECH

UGA President Jere. W. Morehead

“It was clear in our meeting today that this delay would be beneficial to our student athletes and promote the safe and orderly return to campus for our student body in August. Having some separation between the earlier reopening of our campuses and the later start of the football season should be helpful.”

Greg McGarity, J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics

“The 10-game SEC schedule provides us the best opportunity to play football as safely as possible in a Covid environment. It’s disappointing the schedule model does not make it possible to play Georgia Tech; however, we look forward to renewing that rivalry in 2021. I do want to commend Commissioner Sankey, his staff, and the University presidents and chancellors for their leadership in continuing to navigate these challenging issues.

We look forward to communicating our plan for attendance at home games in Sanford Stadium at a later date. We are thankful for the patience our devoted season ticket holders have shown during this time. We are committed to creating a safe and healthy environment for our fans that will respect and adhere to all Covid guidelines.”

SEC PRESS RELEASE ON NEW SEC FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

The Southeastern Conference has established September 26 as the new kickoff for it 2020 football season to allow its universities to focus on the healthy return of their campus communities and the gradual re-introduction of athletics, as the 14 members of the SEC continue to monitor developments related to COVID-19, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey announced Thursday.

The 2020 SEC football season will be comprised of a 10-game Conference-only schedule and the SEC Football Championship Game will be played December 19 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, rescheduled from the original date of December 5. The schedule will include one mid-season open date for each school and an open date on December 12 for all schools.

“This new plan for a football schedule is consistent with the educational goals of our universities to allow for the safe and orderly return to campus of their student populations and to provide a healthy learning environment during these unique circumstances presented by the COVID-19 virus,” Sankey said. “This new schedule supports the safety measures that are being taken by each of our institutions to ensure the health of our campus communities.”

This action was taken following extensive discussions and thorough deliberation among the SEC’s Presidents and Chancellors, Athletics Directors, Conference Office staff, and medical advisors, led by the SEC’s Return to Activity and Medical Guidance Task Force.

“After careful consideration of the public health indicators in our region and following advice of our medical advisors, we have determined that this is the best course of action to prepare for a safe and healthy return to competition for SEC student-athletes, coaches and others associated with our sports programs,” said Sankey.

The decision to limit competition to Conference-only opponents and rescheduling the SEC Championship Game is based on the need for maximum flexibility in making any necessary scheduling adjustments while reacting to developments around the pandemic and continued advice from medical professionals.

“We believe these schedule adjustments offer the best opportunity to complete a full season by giving us the ability to adapt to the fluid nature of the virus and the flexibility to adjust schedules as necessary if disruptions occur,” Sankey said. “It is regrettable that some of our traditional non-conference rivalries cannot take place in 2020 under this plan, but these are unique, and hopefully temporary, circumstances that call for unconventional measures.”

The rescheduled start to the season will allow the SEC to continue to monitor health trends across its 11-state footprint, as well as monitor developments in technology around mitigation and treatment of the virus, including:

Trends in public health indicators throughout the SEC’s 11-state footprint, including positive cases of COVID-19, hospitalizations and recovery statistics
State, local and campus heath directives, including restrictions on gatherings, isolation requirements for travelers, and other health and travel restrictions
Continued development of risk mitigation strategies
Continued advancement in COVID-19 testing reliability and availability
Continued evolution of time-based strategies for resuming activities after positive test results, including contact tracing, isolation and quarantine requirements
Observation of successes and challenges presented by return to competition in other sports

A revised schedule for the 2020 SEC football season will be announced at a later date following approval by the Conference’s athletics directors.

Further decisions regarding safety standards related to athletics events, tailgating and other game day activities, including social distancing, face covering and other health measures consistent with CDC, state and local guidelines, will be announced at a later date.
Other notes related to the resumption of competition:

The SEC announced in July that the sports of men’s and women’s cross country, soccer and volleyball would be postponed through at least August 31. Start dates and schedules for those sports, as well as sports in their non-traditional seasons during the fall, will be announced at a later date.

The SEC announced in July that student-athletes in all sports who elect to not participate in intercollegiate athletics during the fall 2020 academic semester because of health and/or safety concerns related to COVID-19 will continue to have their scholarships honored by their university and will remain in good standing with their team.

The SEC’s Return to Activity and Medical Guidance Task Force continues to meet on policies and procedures for the safe return of student-athletes to competition, including the development of comprehensive testing and reporting policies, building on the NCAA’s Resocialization of College Sports Guidelines.

Each athletics program has been engaged in evaluating best practices for game operations to prepare a safe environment for student-athletes, coaches, staff, officials and other individuals necessary to conduct games.

SEC Votes For Conference Only Schedule

The Southeastern Conference has voted to play a 10 game conference only schedule with the first game scheduled for September 26th.

The SEC Championship will be played on December 19th.

This will mark the first time since 1924 that Georgia and Georgia Tech will not play

Click HERE for the full press release.

Thursday COVID-19 Report - Pike Doubles In July

The number of confirmed cases in Georgia is 182,286, the number of deaths is 3,671, Hospitalizations 18,303, ICU admissions 3,354.

The number of new cases reported today is 3,963. The mortality rate is 2.01%.

Pike county has reported a 100% increase this month over the combined number of cases in March, April, May and June. The state has reported 100,995 new cases this month, a 124.24% increase.

Lamar county reported 1 death.

Fulton county has the highest number of cases with 17,286 and the highest number of deaths with 383.

County
Cases
Deaths
New
Cases
Upson
460
45
 3 
Pike
180
3
 2 
Spalding
823
38
 21 
Lamar
217
9
5
Monroe
404
23
 5 
Butts
444
36
12
Meriwether
344
5
6
Talbot
123
3
 0 
Taylor
68
2
 3 
Crawford
87
0
  1  
Coweta
1,275
18
 17 
Fayette
898
24
25
Unknown
2,279
7


The Georgia Department of Health releases updated information daily at 3 pm.

For the complete report, click HERE

Herman Cain Dies Of COVID-19

Former GOP presidential candidate and Henry county resident Herman Cain has died following a month long hospitalization due to the COVID-19 virus.

Cain attended the Tulsa, Oklahoma rally on June 20th and was admitted to an Atlanta area hospital on July 1st.

Cain, 74, is survived by his wife, Gloria, children Vincent and Melanie and their three grandchildren.

Wednesday, July 29, 2020

PAPER PETITION DRIVE OPPOSED TO CHANGE R.E. LEE NAME

LORI LINDSEY, ORGANIZER OF THE ON-LINE PETITION EFFORT TO RETAIN THE R.E. LEE NAME ON THE THOMASTON-UPSON GOVERNMENT COMPLEX BUILDING HAS ALMOST 2500 NAMES ON THAT PETITION BUT IS WORKING ON A PAPER PETITION.

LORI TOLD 101 NEWS TO BE A VALID PETITION, SIGNATURES NEED TO BE ON THE PAPER PETITION. PETITION SIGNINGS WILL BE HELD THIS SATURDAY 10 AM TILL 2 PM IN THE PARKING LOT OF THE TASTY SHOP ON EAST MAIN AND AT THE PARKING LOT NEAR THE PIE AND OLD RITE AID STORE.

A CHICAGO RESIDENT, 26 YEAR OLD DAVID BAXTER, A WHITE MALE, ORGANIZED THE ON LINE PETITION TO REMOVE THE R.E. LEE NAME. BAXTER IS A GRADUATE OF UPSON-LEE HIGH SCHOOL AND AT LAST REPORT HAD 652 NAMES ON HIS PETITION. HE REPORTEDLY HAS INDICATED HE UNDERTOOK THE PETITION EFFORT TO HELP OUT HIS HOMETOWN OPPOSE WHITE SUPREMACY.

Wednesday COVID-19 Report

The number of confirmed cases in Georgia is 178,323, the number of deaths is 3,642, Hospitalizations 17,964, ICU admissions 3,301.

The number of new cases reported today is 3,271. The mortality rate is 2.04%.

Spalding county has reported a 100% increase this month over the combined number of cases in March, April, May and June. Fayette county has experienced a 156% increase.

Fayette county and Coweta county reported 1 death each.

Fulton county has the highest number of cases with 16,867 and the highest number of deaths with 381.

County
Cases
Deaths
New
Cases
Upson
457
45
 5 
Pike
178
3
 1 
Spalding
802
38
 11 
Lamar
212
8
4
Monroe
399
23
14 
Butts
432
36
4
Meriwether
338
5
6
Talbot
123
3
 0 
Taylor
65
2
 3 
Crawford
86
0
  4  
Coweta
1,258
18
 25 
Fayette
873
24
18
Unknown
2,429
6


The Georgia Department of Health releases updated information daily at 3 pm.

For the complete report, click HERE