September 2, 2022 Update
As of May 2022, this newsletter is sent to subscribers only on an irregular basis with significant local COVID-19 updates and news. It will be sent weekly when ACC is designated as a High COVID-19 Community and will also be sent when ACC's level changes. It will not be sent out weekly when the community remains in Medium or Low levels.
High COVID-19 Community Level in Athens-Clarke County Continues Mask Requirement, Other Measures
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has continued to keep Athens-Clarke County's COVID-19 Community Level as High in its latest data report on Thursday, September 1, 2022. The report, which is updated weekly on Thursday nights, previously reported Athens-Clarke County's COVID-19 Community Level move from Medium to High on Thursday, August 25.
Based on the Mayor and Commission's extension of a local declaration of a local state of emergency at their Regular Session on August 2, 2022, masks are required in public spaces and private entities, with some limited exceptions, regardless of vaccination status when Athens-Clarke County is in a high community level.
Private entities must opt-in to the mask requirement as per an executive order from the governor. The current local declaration is scheduled to expire on September 7, 2022, unless renewed, amended, or rescinded by the Mayor and Commission.
The Athens-Clarke County Unified Government's (ACCGov) response policy requires all employees and members of the public, regardless of vaccination status, to wear face masks in any indoor, shared, or public ACCGov space and on Transit vehicles when Athens-Clarke County is in a period of high COVID-19 community level. Additionally, internal ACCGov operations during high community levels include capacity limitations for ACCGov buildings, in-person ACCGov meeting limitations, and distancing measures.
CDC looks at the combination of three metrics — new COVID-19 admissions per 100,000 population in the past 7 days, the percent of staffed inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients, and total new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 population in the past 7 days — to determine the COVID-19 community level.
New COVID-19 admissions and the percent of staffed inpatient beds occupied represent the current potential for strain on the health system. Data on new cases acts as an early warning indicator of potential increases in health system strain in the event of a COVID-19 surge. Using these data, the COVID-19 community level is classified as low, medium, or high.
For more information, visit www.accgov.com/coronavirus.
CDC Recommends the First Updated COVID-19 Booster
The CDC recommends for use of updated COVID-19 boosters from Pfizer-BioNTech for people ages 12 years and older and from Moderna for people ages 18 years and older.
Updated COVID-19 boosters add Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 spike protein components to the current vaccine composition, helping to restore protection that has waned since previous vaccination by targeting variants that are more transmissible and immune-evading.
In the coming weeks, CDC also expects to recommend updated COVID-19 boosters for other pediatric groups, per the discussion and evaluation of the data by ACIP on Sept. 1, 2022.
COVID Vaccine Information
Schedule a COVID Test Online
Find a COVID Testing Location
Clarke County School District COVID-19 Dashboard - September 2, 2022
The CCSD COVID-19 Dashboard displays positive cases in the past 7, 14 and 30 days across the district and by each school, with hourly updates.
As of 4:15 PM on September 2, 2022, the dashboard shows:
636 cases in August 2022
70 cases in May 2022
1,532 cases in January 2022
508 cases in August 2021
615 cases in the past 30 days
179 cases in the past 14 days
56 cases in the past 7 days
3.3% of students and staff with cases in the last 30 days
1.2% of students and staff with cases in the last 14 days
0.5% of students and staff with cases in the last 7 days
Click here for More Information
