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IMPERIAL COLLEGE OF LONDON
rm% feature
Coronavirus Week 2
LOCAL EXPERTS ADVOCATE FOR SOCIAL DISTANCING AND TESTING
By Jessica Luton news@flagpole.com
feature
Life in the Time of Goronavirus
HOW ATHENS BUSINESSES ARE COPING (OR NOT)
By Dan Jackson news@flagpole.com
I t’s hard to believe just how quickly life in
Athens has changed in two weeks thanks
to the coronavirus. Beginning with UGA’s
Mar. 12 decision to suspend classes and the
cancellation of all SEC sports events, things
escalated quickly when the first case of
COVID-19 was confirmed in Athens-Clarke
County on Mar. 15.
As of this writing, there have been 14
confirmed cases in Athens. However, it’s
likely that there are many unconfirmed
cases in our community. As highlighted
by a letter from a large list of local doctors
and healthcare professionals read at the
ACC Commission’s Mar. 19 special called
session, there are “likely at least 100 uncon
firmed cases in Athens” that merely haven’t
been diagnosed because of a shortage of
tests. A hundred unconfirmed cases, the let
ter noted, could easily climb to 600 cases in
two weeks without social distancing prac
tices and other measures to help curb expo
sure. The doctors’ letter, alongside a video
from St. Mary’s emergency room physician
Lewis Earnest, calls on the ACC to take
swift action to help curb local exposure.
As of press time, there were 772 con
firmed cases in the state, with 25 deaths
so far. That’s up from 121 cases and one
death just a week prior. Both state and local
confirmed case numbers are anticipated to
increase as more tests become available.
While there has been a shortage of tests,
Northeast Health District Administrator
Emily Eisenman said at Thursday’s ACC
Commission meeting that the number of
test kits and supplies available locally have
increased significantly since the beginning
of the week, and they could currently test
20-25 people a day. It takes about three
days, on average, to get results back from
labs after they are submitted for processing.
That should take less time in the future, as
private labs are increasingly collaborating
on test processing with public health labs.
“We are in a much better place than we
were earlier this week,” Eisenman said. “We
wish we had more tests, but we’re doing
what we can with what we have.”
Social distancing—keeping six feet from
others not in your immediate household,
along with practicing frequent hand-wash
ing and covering coughs—is ultimately
one of the best ways to curb the risk of
increased cases overwhelming Athens’
health care system, said Jose F. Cordero, a
professor of epidemiology and biostatistics
at UGA’s College of Public Health and a
contributor to the letter from local doctors.
In the public health realm, experts cite the
need to “flatten the curve,” a term that
refers to decreasing the sharply spiking arc
of projected cases over time as expressed in
a chart.
“There are several models published,
and all suggest that social distancing has
the best potential of flattening the curve,”
Cordero said. “Testing will offer more
specific data on the local transmission of
COVID-19, and it would help determine
what areas in Athens may need more atten
tion to curb its transmission.”
As a result of a slow increase in obtain
ing testing supplies, there is now more
access to testing, such as the newly opened
Piedmont Athens Regional Medical Center’s
drive-through testing location at the
Oconee Health Campus (1305 Jennings
Mill Road, Watkinsville).
For now, testing is prioritized and lim
ited to vulnerable, at-risk people as defined
by guidelines from the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention: people with symp
toms that require hospitalization, people
who are elderly, and/or those who have
a chronic medical condition. Moreover,
anyone who suspects they have COVID-19
must be pre-screened by calling 1-866-460-
1119 to see if they meet the requirements
for an appointment. Others should contact
their primary care physician, according to
public health officials.
“Increasing the capacity to test for
COVID-19 is good news. It is needed
because it is the best way to track the prog
ress of the epidemic here in Georgia,” said
Cordero. “Having said that, increasing test
ing will increase the number of confirmed
cases and will give us a better picture of
how widespread the infections are. That
is very important data to know where to
concentrate prevention efforts and to better
forecast the demand for health care services
to treat those with serious complications.” ©
J ust two weeks ago, Athens was a thriv
ing college town. Then the coronavirus
hit, and everything changed.
At the start of reporting this article, the
story concerned the ways individuals were
coping with the crisis. On Saturday, Mar.
14, this reporter observed an unexpectedly
active bar and restaurant scene downtown
and in Five Points. Days later, as the crisis
deepened, most institutions were closing
and thousands of events, concerts, plays
and parties were being canceled. Social
distancing was the new normal, and busi
nesses where employees found themselves
in relatively close proximity to their cus
tomers began to change
their operations. These
businesses are franti
cally trying to find a
balance between serving
the community, miti
gating damage to their
bottom lines and keep
ing valued employees
working. For some com
panies, this last goal was
the most important.
A quick survey found
that, while supermar
kets and other chains
remained open, many
locally owned businesses
announced they would
close for at least two
weeks, and once-lively
commercial centers fell
quiet. In Normaltown,
Seth Hendershot
manned the counter at his eponymous
coffee shop alone, urging customers to
tip their favorite barista via Venmo. Avid
Bookshop in Five Points closed its sales
floor while still accepting orders online.
Notable exceptions included supermarkets
and a sprinkling of cafes and gyms. Most
restaurants have adopted curbside service
as their safe response to the crisis.
Restaurants were required to close their
dining rooms, though they can still serve
food for take-out or delivery. The Grub
Notes blog at flagpole.com has a more com
prehensive list, but here are a few examples:
DePalma’s, among many other restau
rants, is offering curbside service. Partner
John Dufur said that while business is off,
he is able to keep a small crew working. He
added that the restaurant began building
financial reserves starting with the 2008
financial crisis and now will be able to offer
loans to its employees to help them pay
bills.
Heirloom Cafe owner Jessica Rothacker
was providing curbside service and limited
delivery to residents within 10 minutes of
the restaurant and serving a family meal to
all of her employees, including those on fur
lough. She closed the restaurant Monday to
re-evaluate, but then reopened for take out.
Taqueria del Sol is providing curbside
service as well and is delivering to doc
tors’ offices, which typically have lunches
provided by pharmaceutical sales reps.
Manager Brent Plagenhoef is even cov
ering the cost of meals for food service
employees.
Home.made is providing curbside service
and has also started a GoFundMe site to
raise funds to help its employees weather
the crisis. After only two days, the site has
raised nearly $12,000.
Cooks who want locally grown ingredi
ents should note that the popular Athens
Farmers Market has postponed its Mar.
21 opening for two weeks. Instead, Athens
locavores can get their favorite produce,
meats and other products at the Daily
Groceries Co-op or through Collective
Harvest’s CSA.
Other types of businesses and nonprofits
are altering their operations. For example,
the Athens Area Humane Society is operat
ing with a small staff on shorter hours, but
is still getting many calls from animal lovers
who want to adopt or foster dogs and cats.
Shelter director Jed Kaylor said that he has
a small crew handling some animals coming
in from the agency’s partners, such as the
ACC Animal Services Department, and that
these animals are quickly being adopted by
families.
Green Season Inc., an Atlanta-based
landscaping company with strong ties to
the Athens area, is operating as usual, but
is accommodating its staff by allowing them
to bring children to the office while schools
are closed. Classic Groundcover, a large
plant nursery serving wholesale customers
around the world, was operating at 50% of
normal levels, but is keeping its entire staff
on. “We have to keep plants watered, prune
plants for their spring growth and remain
in operation,” said associate manager Amy
Milton.
As Athenians now wait to receive a pay
roll tax reduction in their paychecks—if
they’re still getting one—and a check from
the federal government to make ends meet,
many are imagining ways to spend lots
of time indoors with family. Let us know
how you’re spending your time and which
Netflix movies do the best job of taking
your mind off the crisis. Maybe even crack a
classic like Proust or Thomas Hardy. ©
Do nothing
Closing schools and universities
Case isolation
Case isolation and household quarantine
Case isolation, household quarantine and
social distancing of those aged over 70
Surge critical care
bed capacity
Mitigation strategy scenarios for Great Britain showing critical care (ICU) bed requirements. The shaded area
shows the 3-month period in which these interventions are assumed to remain in place.
Chris Sharpley delivers a pizza curbside to an Eastside DePalma’s customer.
MARCH 25, 2020 | FLAGPOLE.COM
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DAN JACKSON