About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 25, 2020)
TODAYS TOP HEADLINES The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com Midweek Edition-November 25-26, 2020 3A Kemp calls rise a ‘bump’ Experts alarmed by growing number of positive tests in Ga. BY JEFF AMY Associated Press ATLANTA — Although White House officials are pushing Georgia to do more to slow the spread of the coronavirus, Gov. Brian Kemp said Tuesday that the responsibility rests with individual Georgians, as he implored them to take pre cautions over Thanksgiving. The holiday comes at a perilous moment for the state. Although the virus is spreading more slowly in Georgia than in 40 other states, according to figures kept by The Associated Press, the number of infec tions is still rising rapidly and approaching the peak Geor gia saw in late July. The Republican governor repeated the same guidance he’s been giving Georgians since summer, that they should wear masks, keep their distance from others, wash their hands, and follow Kemp’s rules, including bans on large gatherings. The gov ernor said he wasn’t planning any other measures, such as a statewide mask mandate, or renewed restrictions on businesses. “Our citizens are the ones that solved the problem after July 4th, because people did what we asked them to do. And we’re asking them to do that again going into Thanks giving,” Kemp told reporters. “If we do that, we’re going to get on the backside of this lit tle bump that we’re seeing.” Experts, starting with the White House Coronavirus Task Force, disagree. “Georgia has seen an increase in new cases and stability in test positivity and is in the early stages of full resurgence,” the task force wrote in a report dated Sun day. “This is the moment to dramatically increase mitigation.” The seven-day rolling average of daily COVID-19 cases has been rising for nine weeks, and is up more than 75% since the state began reporting rapid antigen num bers at the beginning of the JOSHUA L. JONES I Associated Press Athens-Clarke County Health Department staff get ready for COVID-19 testing at the free Downtown Health Fair on Wednesday, Nov. 18, in Athens, Ga. month, standing just under 3,500 cases a day on Tuesday. The rate of newly reported infections has accelerated over the last week. Harry Heiman, a public health professor at Georgia State University, said Kemp was wrong to call Georgia’s situation a “little bit of an uptick.” “We are in a full crisis,” Heiman said. “We have case numbers now that are simi lar to the case numbers at the peak of the surge in the summer.” Where Georgia stands has been confused by the increasing prevalence of rapid antigen tests, as well as the even worse situation in other states. Georgia counts molecular tests separately from antigen tests, and only began releasing daily counts of antigen tests ear lier this month. The website that reports daily results is geared only to molecular tests, although Public Health Commissioner Kathleen Toomey said Tuesday said officials treat them the same. “Just to be clear, those antigen positives are dealt with just like any other posi tive,” Toomey said. Toomey said a rising vol ume of tests in recent days may be an attempt by people to get cleared to see family members, and urged people to consider staying away. “If you get tested today, and you’re negative, it does not mean that you will not be positive in a day or two or three,” Toomey said. “And so it’s particularly impor tant that we don’t use their COVID test as a justifica tion to go and not follow the guidelines.” Amber Schmidtke, an epidemiologist who writes a daily report on Geor gia’s COVID-19 situation, said Kemp is wrong to rely on personal responsibil ity to prevent spread over Thanksgiving. “If this were a success ful strategy, we wouldn’t have a pandemic any more,” Schmidtke said. “If we could trust people to put others’ needs ahead of their own, it would have been vanquished over the summer.” NORTH HALL JEWELERS Honest Affordable Reliable Goldsmith since 1979 We Buy Gold Jewelry Repair Discount and Estate Jewelry ^Private Appointments Available 1062 Thompson Bridge Road, Ste A-1 Gainesville, GA 678-450-7111 (Masks Requested) Biden picks security team WILMINGTON, Del. — Declaring “America is back,” President-elect Joe Biden introduced his national secu rity team on Tuesday, his first substantive offering of how he’ll shift from Trump-era “America First” policies by relying on experts from the Democratic establishment to be some of his most important advisers. “Together, these public servants will restore America globally, its global leadership and its moral leadership,” Biden said from a theater in his longtime home of Wilm ington, Delaware. “It’s a team that reflects the fact that America is back, ready to lead the world, not retreat from it.” The nominees are all Washington veterans with ties to former President Barack Obama’s administration, a sign of Biden’s effort to resume some form of normalcy after the tumult of President Donald Trump’s four years in office. There are risks to the approach as Republicans plan attacks and progressives fret that Biden is tapping some officials who were too cautious and incremental the last time they held power. The president-elect’s team includes Antony Blinken, a veteran foreign policy hand well-regarded on Capi tol Hill whose ties to Biden go back some 20 years, for secretary of state; lawyer Alejandro Mayorkas to be homeland security secretary; veteran diplomat Linda Thomas-Greenfield to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations; and Obama White House alumnus Jake Sullivan as national security adviser. Avril Haines, a former deputy director of the CIA, was picked to serve as director of national intelligence, the first woman to hold that post, and former Secretary of State John Kerry will make a curtain call as a special envoy on climate change. Kerry and Sullivan’s position will not require Senate confirmation. Associated Press EARLY DEADLINES FOR THANKSGIVING DAY Because of the upcoming Thanksgiving Day holiday The Times will alter its advertising and legals deadline as follows: Retail Display Ads Publication Date Deadline The Times Midweek Edition 11/25 Monday, 11/23,12:00pm Weekend Edition 11/28 Tuesday, 11/24,3:00pm Classified Line Ads Publication Date Deadline The Times Midweek Edition 11/25 Monday, 11/23,3:00pm Weekend Edition 11/28 Tuesday, 11/24,3:00pm Legal Ads Publication Date Deadline The Times Midweek Edition 11/25 Thursday, 11/19,3:00pm Weekend Edition 11/28 Monday, 11/23,3:00pm Midweek Edition 12/2 Wednesday, 11/25,3:00pm Foreclosure Deadline 12/2 Monday, 11/30,3:00pm Obituaries Publication Date Deadline The Times Midweek Edition 11/25 Monday, 11/23,3:00pm Weekend Edition 11/28 Wednesday, 11/25,3:00pm €he(£htw$ gainesv letimes .com will be CLOSED Thursday, November 26 and Friday, November 27 in observance of Thanksgiving. more voices, more victories. 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