New cases of coronavirus in Georgia have been rising steadily for two months.
Gov. Brian Kemp expressed concern about the increase, which includes record-breaking numbers of new cases in recent days. He and the state’s top doctor, Public Health Commissioner Kathleen Toomey, urged Georgians to wear masks, wash hands, avoid crowds and get a flu shot.
But Kemp has not announced any new coronavirus restrictions on gatherings or businesses or a mask mandate as most states now have. Kemp’s executive orders have remained largely unchanged since the summer.
Credit: Alyssa Pointer / Alyssa.Pointer@ajc.com
Credit: Alyssa Pointer / Alyssa.Pointer@ajc.com
“We have been able to successfully balance both lives and livelihoods,” Kemp said at a press conference. “Georgia businesses have been allowed to resume operations, and people have been allowed to exercise their constitutional freedoms. Not every state has taken this approach, and my plea to Georgians is this — to keep Georgia open, to keep hardworking people employed, to keep food on the table for thousands, please follow the guidance we’ve been preaching for months.”
Though he thinks most Georgians followed the state’s advice over Thanksgiving, the governor said some let down their guard. Kemp said the guidance, if people will follow it, works.
“We’ve just got to all make sure we double down on that, even if it’s just for a couple weeks to get over this hump,” Kemp said.
Here’s a look at major developments related to COVID-19 over the past week:
Metro area in ‘red zone’
For the first time in weeks, metro Atlanta joined the regions of the state that the White House has put in the most severe category — a “red zone” — for new infections. The red zone is for areas with more than 100 new coronavirus cases per 100,000 residents in the week prior.
The highest rates of spread generally are in far North Georgia. The White House task force report said 79% of Georgia counties now have moderate or high rates of virus transmission, up from 70% a week ago.
And President Donald Trump’s virus task force urged states to sound the alarm ahead of Christmas, Hanukkah and other year-end holidays.
“Begin warning about any gathering during December holidays,” the latest weekly task force report warned in bold letters.
Vaccines coming, supply limited
Georgia officials said Tuesday they likely won’t have enough COVID-19 vaccine doses to give to everyone in the groups they want to vaccinate first: health care workers and people living in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.
Georgia likely will get several hundred thousand doses in the initial allotment, state officials said.
Georgia Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Kathleen Toomey said at a news conference that her team has had conversations with hospital leaders about how they will allocate the initial doses. A possibility is prioritizing employees who may be at greater risk of contracting the disease, such as those who work in intensive care units.
The news conference came shortly before the state released an updated vaccine distribution plan.
Kemp willing to take vaccine
Gov. Brian Kemp said he’s willing to get the COVID-19 vaccine early if it would encourage others to do so.
Kemp told reporters he does not want to skip ahead of groups that state officials want to see vaccinated first. Polls show many Americans are hesitant about being vaccinated.
“If it helps give confidence to our most vulnerable and frontline health care workers for me to take the vaccine early, I would definitely be willing to do that,” he said.
The governor said it likely will be months before a vaccine is available for most Georgians.
UPS ready to deliver vaccine doses
UPS said it has Pfizer vaccines in storage in freezer farms at its Louisville air hub and is prepared to deliver them to hospitals and pharmacies once they are approved, along with supplemental dry ice shipments.
The Sandy Springs-based shipping giant has its deep freezers temperature-controlled to Pfizer’s specifications, said UPS chief sales officer Kate Gutmann.
Multiple airlines and carriers are handling mass shipments of vaccines from Europe to the United States. Gutmann said UPS, which is the world’s largest package delivery company, will handle half of the small package shipments of Pfizer vaccines to sites in the U.S., and all of the kits and dry ice to go with the Pfizer vaccines.
The company plans to send an additional package of dry ice a day after each vaccine shipment, regardless of who shipped the vaccines, for pharmacies or other dosing sites that don’t have freezers capable of the ultra-cold temperatures required for the Pfizer vaccines.
Staff writers Kelly Yamanouchi and Eric Stirgus contributed to this article.
