COVID-19 Report: This week’s impact on metro Atlanta schools, governments

• The Red & Black reported that the Athens-Clarke county government approved an emergency law requiring people to wear masks in public spaces and private businesses in response to COVID-19 on Tuesday.

• Classes at the University of Georgia began Thursday, but the Athens Banner-Herald reports it was a relatively desolate scene. Per the newspaper, there were three positive tests out of 793 people in the UGA community who volunteered to be tested as part of the school’s first week of COVID-19 surveillance testing.

• The newspaper also reported that Athens Technical College President Andrea Daniel announced this week she would require all faculty, staff and students to wear masks inside campus buildings when classes began Monday. Faculty would be given masks to hand out to students without one.

Clayton

• The Clayton school district decided on Thursday that there will be no fans in the stands for sports events at sports events for the forseeable future due to coronavirus.

Cobb

• Many Cobb County students and parents tried and failed to attend virtual classes the first day of school Monday because of a “server issue” on the district’s website. They used Zoom, the planned back-up, until the issue was fixed. More than 100,000 of the district’s roughly 110,000 students were able to log into the proper system by noon.

• Smyrna became one of the first suburban cities to require face mask wearing. People must wear face coverings in businesses and offices where owners want patrons to wear them. Individuals must also wear masks on city property when they are unable to socially distance. Gov. Brian Kemp signed an executive order on Saturday allowing local governments to require that masks be worn in private businesses if the owner consents, which was a change in position that also saw Kemp in July sue the city of Atlanta for making such a law. Kemp dropped the suit Thursday.

• Pop-up COVID-19 testing sites will opened this week at Kennesaw State University’s two campuses.

DeKalb

• The DeKalb County Board of Health closed the COVID-19 testing site at Beulah Missionary Baptist Church on Clifton Springs Road in southwest DeKalb due to “low volume,” according to officials.

• An employee who works in the administrative building, closed to the public since March, for DeKalb County sanitation tested positive for COVID-19, officials announced late Wednesday. Everyone who may have come into contact with the employee will be tested and must quarantine.

Douglas

• The county school system, which began the school year virtually Monday, released plans this week to bring students back into classrooms starting next month. Under the staggered plan, elementary students would return Sept. 8, with classes held at schools Monday through Thursday and remote learning on Fridays. Middle school students would return Sept. 14; high school students on Sept. 21. All have the option to continue remote learning for the school year.

Floyd

• After less than a day, the Floyd school system on Friday morning announced it would reverse its decision to end in-person class instruction. That means students and faculty will return to school Monday despite there being 10 positive coronavirus cases reported at various schools, according to reporting from Northwest Georgia News. The system services about 10,000 students and began two days ago.

Fulton

• Sandy Springs was among the first cities to require residents to wear masks in public as a way to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Council members passed the law Thursday. Roswell Mayor Lori Henry ordered face masks be worn inside city buildings via executive order on Wednesday. This is also a result of Kemp’s order over the weekend.

Gordon

Gordon Central High School closed Wednesday, Aug. 18 for at least two weeks following five positive cases of COVID-19 at the school, The Calhoun Times reported. There was not a widespread outbreak at the school, district officials said, but because of quarantine rules, the school doesn’t have enough teachers available to continue classes in-person during that period.

Gwinnett

• After nearly two weeks of only online instruction, the Gwinnett school system will begin welcoming students back into classrooms next week in a phased plan. At a Board of Education meeting Thursday, many teachers said they were worried about keeping themselves and others safe with in-person classes.

• Health officials in Gwinnett, Georgia’s second-largest county, said this week the county is seeing progress in its fight against the coronavirus as the rate of cases decline and long waits for test results improve.

Hall

• Officials with the University of North Georgia told the Gainesville Times that they were “disappointed” with the reports and videos showing big groups of students partying in Dahlonega just days before classes started Monday. They said citations were possible.

• The Hall school district was still adjusting this week, as Gainesville students adjusted to virtual schooling. But students at Brenau University began moving in this week, but obviously things are different this year, reports Gainesville Times. The move-ins are now by appointment and there is a check-in by car to reduce face-to-face contact.

Houston

• The Warner Robins city government passed a resolution on Thursday requiring face coverings be worn while on city property, according to 13-WMAZ.

• The television station also reported that, with 46 positive COVID-19 cases since school began, some Houston County School District want to switch their children from in-person instruction to virtual learning but missed the deadline of Aug. 11 and want an extension.

Macon-Bibb

After requiring all residential undergraduate students to get a test, Mercer University announced 103 of 4,229 tested positive for COVID-19 between July 20 and Aug. 19, according to the Macon Telegraph. In-person schooling began Tuesday. And of the 263 faculty/staff members tested, 15 were positive. Mercer officials told the Telegraph they aren’t aware of anyone being hospitalized.

Newton

• The Newton county government on Tuesday approved a mask ordinance requiring the wearing of face coverings in public for people older than age 8 only in the unincorporated areas of the county, reports The Newton Citizen. There are exemptions.

• All of the Newton school system’s fall athletics and extra-curricular activities were suspended starting Monday, according to The Newton Citizen.

• Newton school officials laid out its plan to get laptops to families as they expect to begin classes online Sept. 8, reports The Covington News. Information of the distribution points can be found online.