Dunwoody declares COVID-19 emergency, could return to virtual meetings

City of Dunwoody

Credit: Courtesy Paul Ward

Credit: Courtesy Paul Ward

City of Dunwoody

Dunwoody joined a few other DeKalb County cities by redeclaring a local emergency due to COVID-19′s rapidly spreading omicron variant.

The City Council unanimously voted Monday to enact the emergency ordinance, which allows city meetings to take place virtually without an in-person quorum. City Attorney Bill Riley said it is a precaution in case things get worse regarding transmission of the virus.

“With many people either ill or quarantining, it may be necessary to hold virtual meetings to obtain a quorum,” Mayor Lynn Deutsch said in a Facebook post.

The growth in the number of new Covid-19 cases is startling. The Omicron variant appears to be both more contagious and...

Posted by Mayor Lynn Deutsch on Friday, January 7, 2022

Cities such as Stone Mountain and Stonecrest continued virtual meetings through all of last year, when most cities returned to in-person settings. Like those cities, Dunwoody will allow public comment to take place virtually if they return to online meetings.

Dunwoody’s policy comes on the heels of the city canceling all municipal court hearings last week due to the threat of omicron. The cancellation was later extended through Wednesday. In addition, the nearby cities of Avondale Estates and Clarkston closed their City Halls to the public due to the COVID-19 uptick.

The ordinance is set to expire Feb. 10.