Some Georgia businesses allowed to reopen amid COVID-19, Kemp orders. Here’s a list.
Gov. Brian Kemp issued an executive order to reopen businesses and institutions shuttered due to the novel coronavirus, citing data that suggests Georgia is on track to meet White House guidelines to restart the state’s economy.
Kemp told reporters Monday that these businesses will be allowed to reopen for “baseline operations” Friday. The entities must ensure strict social distancing, sanitize regularly and adhere to other guidelines:
- gyms
- bowling alleys
- nail care artists
- tattoo shops
- beauticians
- barbers
- massage therapists
- training schools dedicated to those professions
Kemp signed the order about half-an-hour before Monday’s press conference. The order is statewide, and local rules can’t be more or less restrictive.
In-person worship services at churches are allowed, but strict social distancing measures must be implemented. Alternative services, like drive-in or virtual worship, remain a “good option,” Kemp said.
Theaters, private social clubs and dine-in services at restaurants will re-open April 27.
The re-opened businesses must implement a set of 20 requirements spelled out in Kemp’s executive order earlier this month tied to sanitation, health screening and hygiene if they want to reopen.
Some of these mandatory measures include, but are not limited to:
- Screening employees who show symptoms of COVID-19.
- Providing protective equipment as available.
- Requiring hand washing and sanitation. Workers should also be given sanitation and cleaning supplies to keep their area and equipment clean.
- Staggering shifts, holding meetings virtually and, if possible, allowing teleworking. If you can provide certain services virtually, you must do so whenever possible.
- Preventing workers from gathering during work hours. Employees can take lunch and other breaks outside the office provided social distancing can be maintained.
- Enforcing social distancing and increase the distance between employees and patrons. Employees must be six feet apart from each other.
- Establishing points of sale outside of the business like curbside pick-up or delivery when allowed under existing Georgia laws.
- Suspending the use of PIN and credit card signature requirements.
Hospitals will be also able to resume elective surgeries deemed essential, Kemp said, adding he believes the state will receive the personal protective equipment it needs.
Bars, nightclubs, live performance venues and amusement parks will remain closed. More information will be released over the next several days, he said.
“By taking this measured action, we will get Georgians back to work safely without undermining the progress we all have made in the battle against COVID-19,” Kemp said. “Today’s announcement is a small step forward and should be treated as such.”
The state’s shelter-in-place order is still active and will continue through the end of April “for most Georgians,” Kemp added.
Throughout the press conference, Kemp referenced the economic and mental health issues stemming from the pandemic.
“These are tough moments in our state and nation. I hear the concerns of those I am honored to serve. I see the terrible impact of COVID-19 on public health and the pocketbook,” Kemp said. “I don’t give a damn about politics right now. We’re talking about somebody that has put their whole life into building a business. ...These are tough decisions.”
Kemp and other Republican governors in Deep South states began planning to reopen their state’s economies in the days prior to the Georgia governor’s announcement. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports Kemp spoke with the leaders of Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee about how to safely reopen their states.
Kemp said that data and advice from public health experts would drive the state’s policies. Based on current data, Kemp said the state is on track to meet the first set of federal guidelines to reopen the state’s economy.
The federal guidelines a state should meet to begin reducing or removing shelter in place restrictions are:
- A 14-day downward trajectory of reports for influenza-like illness and COVID-like symptoms.
- Positive tests account for a smaller portion of the total number of tests conducted over a 14-day period or a decrease in the total number of positive tests over a 14-day period.
- The ability to treat all patients without crisis care or a robust testing program in place for at-risk health care workers, including antibody testing.
“According to the Department of Public Health, reports of emergency room visits for flu-like illnesses are declining, documented COVID-19 cases have flattened and appear to be declining, and we have seen declining emergency room visits in general,” Kemp said.
The University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation showed that Georgia reached its peak number of deaths per day on April 7 and peak hospital resource use on April 15.
The model, however, assumes that Georgia would continue its current social distancing measures until mid-June. Data also suggests state officials don’t have a full picture of the pandemic’s effects on the state’s residents.
Georgia ranks among the bottom 10 nationally in testing per capita, according to the COVID Mapping Project. The state has not released data on the number of people tested in each Georgia county.
Until last week, state health officials only counted COVID-19 deaths where the disease was confirmed by a laboratory. Not including symptomatic people who died before they could be tested means the state could be undercounting the number of total deaths, the AJC reports. Health officials also don’t know the race of more than half of the people who’ve tested positive for COVID-19.
Contract tracing, the act of identifying people who’ve come in contact with someone infected with COVID-19, will be the focus of the state’s efforts to combat the spread of the virus moving forward.
Kathleen Toomey, the state’s public health commissioner, said epidemiologists at the state health department are working on training videos for staff at local health districts and other volunteers. The state is recruiting medical students who aren’t in class to help the state with contact tracing.
A computer-based app will help Georgia’s health department to keep track of the data, monitor patients and help find additional contacts. The app will be finalized in the coming days, Toomey said.
“This is our priority focus in the weeks ahead,” she said. “This is the way we are going to stop the virus.”
Health officials in both the Columbus and Macon areas have said contact tracing is not possible due to the sheer number of cases and a lack of staffing.
Public health experts have warned that increasing testing capacity and the ability to trace people who’ve come in contact with coronavirus patients is needed before the country can reopen. Health experts told NBC that the United States would need to double or triple its current testing levels before the economy partially reopened.
“We are an order of magnitude off right now from where we should be,” said Dylan George, an expert in infectious disease modeling who advised the administration of President Barack Obama during the Ebola epidemic, in an interview with NBC. “Testing is the perpetual problem here.”
As of noon Tuesday, Georgia has 19,881 confirmed coronavirus cases and 799 deaths.
This story was originally published April 20, 2020 at 4:46 PM with the headline "Some Georgia businesses allowed to reopen amid COVID-19, Kemp orders. Here’s a list.."