Ott cancels town halls; Cobb announces Coronavirus measures

 

Bob Ott

Concerns over the Coronavirus outbreak have prompted Cobb government officials to cancel some events and announce other related measures.

Commissioner Bob Ott (above) said Wednesday afternoon that two upcoming town hall meetings he had scheduled in East Cobb are being cancelled “out of an abundance of caution.”

They were to have taken place next Tuesday at the Chestnut Ridge Christian Church and April 21 at the East Cobb Library.

Cobb Commission Chairman Mike Boyce has cancelled six upcoming SPLOST open houses for the rest of March, due to concerns over large crowds. The open houses began last week, and those scheduled for April and early May are still on for now, according to a release issued by the county Wednesday afternoon.

“Boyce considered this a prudent move based on concerns of residents and the desire to help staff focus primarily on protecting our community by handling other issues as they develop,” according to the county statement.

The West Cobb Library was closed Tuesday and remains closed until further notice after county officials said an employee there reported possibly being exposed to someone with a confirmed case of Coronavirus.

The county release said all senior centers, including the Tim D. Lee Center on Sandy Plains Road in East Cobb, will be cleaned on the weekends. Seniors are considered a high-risk group for contracting Coronavirus.

The county has issued travel guidelines for employees and established a task force that is meeting daily, composed of health, public safety and other administrators to address the continuing Coronavirus situation.

Related stories

More than 100 people from a cruise ship near San Francisco have been brought to Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Cobb to begin a 14-day quarantine period under the auspices of federal health officials.

Another plane with cruise ship passengers is expected to arrive at Dobbins shortly.

There are six confirmed cases of Coronavirus in Georgia, including one in Cobb County. That individual, who is in home isolation, recently traveled to Italy, which is on a nationwide lockdown and has had hundreds of Coronavirus-related deaths.

Late Tuesday, Gov. Brian Kemp said the number of “presumptive positive” cases of Coronavirus in Georgia has grown to 16, and Cobb County has the most, with six.

Presumptive positive cases are those that have been conducted by state health officials but still require confirmation by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

The county is asking anyone needing information or having questions about its Coronavirus response to visit its resource page or the CDC website.

 

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