Cobb Commission Chairman Mike Boyce signed an order Thursday extending the county’s state of emergency to April 24 in response to the novel coronavirus and based on the recommendations of public health officials.
The original declaration, signed March 24, was set to end April 15.
Thursday’s amendment also lifts restrictions on hours of operation for nonessential businesses that are allowed to remain open, while closing others entirely.
Notably, nonessential businesses that require touching, and can therefore not adhere to social distancing recommendations, are closed. These include:
-Gyms, fitness and recreation centers
-Hair salons
-Barber shops
-Nail salons
-Waxing salons
-Tanning salons
-Spas
-Tattoo parlors
-Massage-therapy establishments and massage services
The order also sought to clarify the requirement for individuals and families to “shelter in place.”
“Residents are instructed to stay home except for essential activities, which include buying food and taking care of the health and safety of anyone in their household, including pets,” it read. “Shelter in place permits people to: leave for work at businesses permitted to operate during the Declaration of Emergency; go outside for exercise purposes so long as 6 feet distance is maintained and no more than 10 people are gathered; and visit the home of immediate family members to assist in childcare or elderly care.”
The order stopped short of spelling out penalties for individuals or companies that flout the rules.
At a work session the day before, Boyce called enforcement “one of the hardest challenges” facing the county.
County spokesman Ross Cavitt said the first days will be "a process of education."
"In the future we may send code enforcement and others to visit violators," he wrote in an email. "No one will face arrest, but repeat violators could face fines or other sanctions. We are instituting a method where residents can help report violators to the county."
