About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (May 28, 2020)
■JffS* Number of coronavirus deaths = in US surpasses 100,000. INSIDE, 3A (the times Thursday, May 28,2020 | GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA | gainesvilletimes.com COVID-19 hospital cases decline NGHS encourages precautions continue despite slowing numbers in Hall BY MEGAN REED mreed@gainesvilletimes.com After being designated a hot spot and making headlines in national media, Hall County’s cases of COVID-19 now seem to be slowing, according to officials with North east Georgia Health System. The health system plans to return to a normal surgery sched ule next month and is lifting some cal visitation restrictions. Still, officials urged con tinued caution. “This is time not to loosen our guard, because if the numbers are declin- ^ ing, they’re declining for a reason,” Dr. Supriya Mannepalli, chair of Northeast Georgia Medi- Mannepalli Center’s Infection Prevention & Control Committee, said on a call with the Greater Hall Chamber of Com merce. “They’re declining because we as a commu nity responded the way we should, by of course focus ing on hand hygiene, wear ing masks and maintaining the social distance.” The system was treating 61 patients with COVID-19 Wednes day, and 35% of the ventilators were in use, according to data shared on its website. A month ear lier, on April 27, NGHS was treat ing 141 COVID-19 patients and was using 39% of its ventilators. While cases at NGHS facilities have been declining, ventilator use has remained relatively steady. Another 687 patients with COVID-19 have been discharged from the system’s facilities and returned home, while 78 have died. Officials with the system encour aged the community to continue taking precautions as Hall County has the fifth highest number of cases in the state and 15th highest cases per capita in the state, with 1,163.56 cases per 100,000 people. Mannepalli said people in the ■ Please see NGHS, 6A ‘Trying to get back in shape’ Photos by SCOTT ROGERS I The Times Patrons of Falcon Parkway Fitness in Flowery Branch work out Wednesday, May 27. As businesses reopen across Georgia they are adding additional safety precautions to protect their customers. People steadily returning to gyms with new safety measures BY NATHAN BERG nberg@gainesvilletimes.com Martha Thornton described Gov. Brian Kemp’s decision to allow gyms in Georgia to reopen a month ago as “a sigh of relief.” Thornton, owner of Oakwood Fitness in Oakwood, is one of many local gym owners who are becoming accustomed to a new normal of operations since fitness centers were allowed to open their doors a little over a month ago. She said she received multiple calls and texts every day while Oakwood Fit ness was closed, as gym members clam ored to find out when they could return to their regular workout routines. Thornton was finally able to respond to the mes sages with good news on April 24 — the first day gyms were allowed to reopen. Since then, Oakwood Fitness has slowly started to get back into the swing of things. “Once the doors opened, everybody started coming back,” Thornton said. “At first, it was slow, but most of our mem bers have decided to come back. We really didn’t lose a whole lot of members because of the shutdown.” Hitesh Patel, owner of Falcon Park way Fitness in Flowery Branch, said the reopening has brought business back at a slow but steady rate. The gym has seen a drop of around 25% to 30% in daily atten dance, but more and more members have been returning every day. Patel said that the response from mem bers has been overwhelmingly positive, as gym goers have come to realize how important their workout is to their daily routines. “A lot of people are just coming up to us and are just thankful that we’re open,” he said. ■ Please see GYMS, 3A A man exercises Wednesday, May 27, at Falcon Parkway Fitness in Flowery Branch. DPH: Poultry worker virus cases down BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com In the first three weeks of May, the number of poultry plant workers testing positive for COVID-19 was down considerably compared to the three preceding weeks. According to statistics provided by health care providers to the Department of Public Health, there were 61 positive cases between May 1-21. Between April 10-30, there were 315 positive cases among people in the poultry industry. Department of Public Health spokeswoman Nancy Nydam said there are an estimated 16,500 poultry employees in the state, and the tally of positive cases as of April 30 was 388. District 2 Public Health spokesman Dave Palmer said the numbers are from health care providers “that capture employment data and serve the most poultry company employees.” ■ Please see POULTRY, 3A BRASELTON Budget down, but workers could get raise BY JEFF GILL jgill@gainesvilletimes.com At least one group of workers isn’t getting a pay cut in the economic downturn — Braselton town employees. A 3% cost-of-living raise is included in the town’s proposed fiscal 2021 budget, which is up for a June 4 public hearing. Otherwise, “it’s not a very exciting budget year,” Town Manager Jennifer Scott said in an email Wednesday, May 27. “We are antici pating revenues to be down from this current year due to COVID-19, but we plan to provide the same services with the same number of employees. We won’t be adding or expanding any services.” Revenues are expected to drop to $5.7 mil lion in fiscal 2021, which begins July 1, from nearly $6 million this fiscal year, or a 5% ■ Please see BUDGET, 6A S. Hall gated apartments go before Hall planners on June 1 BY JEFF GILL jgill@gainesvilletimes.com A 350-unit gated apartment complex pro posed off Thompson Mill Road in South Hall is set to go back before the Hall County Plan ning Commission on Monday, June 1. The project east of Spout Springs Road and next to Oaks Senior Living was tabled at the commission’s May 4 meeting. The nearly 31-acre complex, featuring 13 residential buildings, a clubhouse, swim ming pool and passive park, is projected for completion in 2022. “The apartments will provide housing opportunities to major employers in the area, such as Northeast Georgia Medical Center, located only 2 miles away,” appli cant Rochester & Associates says in its application. Rochester is seeking rezoning from agri cultural-residential to planned residential development for the project. Hall County planning staff is recommend ing approval of the project with conditions. The planning board’s recommendation will be forwarded to the Hall County Board Hall County Planning Commission What: proposed rezoning for 350 apartments When: 5:15 p.m. Monday, June 1 How to view: online at hallcounty.org of Commissioners for a public hearing and final action set for June 25. This e-edition sponsored by:
