About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 2020)
LOCA^STATE The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com Tuesday, December 1,2020 3A Crash with city truck sends 5 to NGMC Kemp: COVID-19 vaccinations to start within weeks in Georgia BY JEFF AMY Associated Press ATLANTA — Gov. Brian Kemp said Monday that he expects vaccinations of health care workers in Georgia against COVID-19 to begin in the second or third week of December, as nursing home executives appealed to the Republican to keep supporting them financially. Kemp made the remarks in a meeting with leaders of the Georgia Health Care Asso ciation, a lobby group for the state’s nursing homes. “I am confident that when a COVID vaccine is authorized, we will be ready to distribute,” Kemp said. The governor spoke as health officials watch closely for an expected increase in coro- navirus infections following Thanksgiving. Although there has been a dip in positive test results that’s likely related to the holidays, Georgia is still averaging more than 3,000 confirmed and prob able cases a day. The state has recorded nearly 472,000 con firmed and probable cases and nearly 9,500 confirmed and probable deaths, according to the state Public Health Depart ment. School-aged children recorded their highest infec- V BEN GRAY I Atlanta Journal-Constitution via Associated Press Gov. Brian Kemp listens as Dr. Kathleen Toomey speaks to journalists during a news conference on the current state of COVID-19, Tuesday, Nov. 24, at the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta. tion rate last week since the state began releasing numbers by age groups, passing the pre vious summer peak. One measure not affected by the holidays continues to worsen. Nearly 2,200 people were in Georgia hospitals on Monday with confirmed cases of COVID-19. The last time there were so many was on Aug. 26, as the state was declining from a peak in hospitalizations of 3,200 on July 31. Statewide, there’s still room in intensive care units, with those beds run ning at 81% capacity, but 16 Georgia hospitals were divert ing ICU patients on Monday, including all three hospitals in Macon, and five of the 11 hos pitals in the Atlanta-based Pied mont Healthcare system. The virus remains worst in northwest Georgia around Dal ton, with more than 1 in 100 residents in both Murray and Whitfield counties testing posi tive in the two weeks that ended Friday. The state identifies 67 of Georgia’s 159 counties as having high transmission. The impact of the pandemic has been heavy at nursing homes, which have recorded nearly a third of all of Georgia’s deaths. Statewide, 661 nursing and assisted living homes state wide had recorded more than 17,000 cases of COVID-19, rep resenting more than 40% of all residents, according to the state Department of Community Health. Another 9,300 employ ees have tested positive. Kemp has deployed National Guard teams to try to control infections at long-term care facilities. The state is spending $78 million in federal coronavi- rus aid to test staff members at nursing homes and another $46 million to boost staffing at more than 160 nursing homes through the end of the year. Nursing home owners expressed gratitude for the aid, but pressed Kemp on Mon day to continue the support into 2021, saying they had lost many long-term employees and were having trouble hir ing new ones. They also made a subtle pitch for higher Med icaid payments, which finance the operation of many nursing homes. Kemp was noncommittal, saying “we will continue to sup port your teams in any way that we can,” while a spokesperson didn’t immediately answer more specific questions. RECOUNT ■ Continued from 1A declined to comment further on the pend ing investigation. Wurtz said she had not yet received notification of an investigation. He singled out groups that he said are working to register people in other states to vote in a high-profile runoff election for Georgia’s two U.S. Senate seats. His office’s 23 investigators also continue to look into allegations of problems with absentee bal lots, as well as claims of people who voted twice, people who cast a ballot in a dead person’s name and non-residents who voted in Georgia, he said. Raffensperger said his investigators are also looking into specific allegations of improper actions by four groups. America Votes has sent absentee ballot applications to people at addresses where they haven’t lived in more than 25 years, while Vote Forward tried to register a dead Alabama woman to vote in Georgia and the New Georgia Project sent voter registration applications to New York City, he said. A spokesperson for America Votes said in an email to The Associated Press that the group is working to make sure every voice is heard. “America Votes has mailed registered voters in Georgia applications to safely and securely vote by mail in the January run offs. These mailings were sent to the list of registered voters maintained by the Secre tary of State,” Sahil Mehrotra wrote. An emailed statement from Vote For ward says volunteers send letters encour aging people to vote. “The letters our volunteers are mailing in advance of the January 5th special election are being sent only to Georgia addresses, not to any other state These letters do not include registration applications and do not directly register anyone to vote,” the statement said. The New Georgia Project called the alle gations “tired and false.” “As Georgians are turning out in record numbers to have their voices heard at the polls, the Secretary of State is resorting to desperate attempts to smear law-abiding organizations and scare eligible Georgians from registering to vote in critical upcom ing elections. We will not be deterred,” executive director Nse Ufot said in an emailed statement. Raffensperger also said a group called Operation New Voter Registration Georgia is telling college students they can change their registration to vote in Georgia for the runoff and then change it back to another state after the election. That group doesn’t seem to have an online presence, and an email sent to an address on a flier circulat ing on Twitter bounced back, saying the account doesn’t exist. The Associated Press contributed. BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com Five people, including two boys, were transported to Northeast Georgia Medical Center after a three-vehicle wreck Saturday, Nov. 28, authorities said. Georgia State Patrol Cpl. Major Patterson said Tara McDowell, 31, of Dawsonville, was heading southbound around 1:33 p.m. Satur day on Thompson Bridge Road in the center turn lane. Jesus Medrano, 51, of Gainesville, was driving a Kia Cadenza northbound in the right lane, and John Staton, 50, of Gaines ville, was stopped at a stop sign on Oak Tree Drive in a Ford F250 owned by the city of Gainesville. Patterson said McDowell turned into the path of Medrano’s car and struck the car head-on. Medrano’s car then struck Staton’s truck in the front with Medrano’s passenger side, authorities said. Both drivers and their passengers were taken to Northeast Georgia Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries. Staton was uninjured. Patterson said McDowell was cited for failure to yield while turning left. Officials: Inmates started jail fire by burning mattresses ATLANTA — Three people were trans ported to a hospital after inmates started a fire at a Georgia jail by burning two mat tresses, authorities said. Fulton County Sheriff’s Office spokes woman Tracy Flanagan said two Fulton County Jail employees and an inmate at were taken to a hospital as a precaution after the blaze Saturday morning. The fire was already out by the time crews got to the building, but there was heavy smoke and minor damage, Atlanta Fire Res cue spokesman Sgt. Cortez Stafford told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He said a guard had also suffered from smoke inhalation. Flanagan said the fire, which started on the seventh floor of the jail building, and was extinguished by employees. It is not clear how many inmates are responsible for setting the mattresses on fire. Associated Press NOT M Y F A Y ONLINE FORUM finding connections in a time of isolation Substance use disorder is said to be a “disease of isolation,” so how can we stay balanced during this time of social distancing? Join us as a community panel discusses their challenges, successes and lessons learned in recovery during the pandemic HOST & PANEL MODERATOR: Jordan Hussey, CPS-AD Executive Director J’s Place Recovery Center THE INCREASED USE OF OPIOIDS, HEROIN, AND ALCOHOL DURING THE PANDEMIC Deb Esposito, CPS-AD, CPS-WH CARES Peer Recovery Coach, Georgia Council on Substance Abuse Northeast Georgia Community Connections Thursday, Dec. 10, 2020 6 - 7 pm For the Zoom Link visit DrugFreeHall.org https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86277508831 Partnership for a d Drug Free I—J ^ I I a service of I I Cl I I Center Point drugfreehall.org a service of Center Point The forum is brought to you by a partnership of agencies and community members dedicated to providing information, resources and actions to address the drug problems of Hall County. FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC This forum sponsored by: Northeast Georgia Medical Center QUESTIONS? Judy Brownell, Director of Prevention prevention@centerpointga.org 678-316-1140 center point
