Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp this week signed two executive orders that will bring the state’s COVID-19 public health state of emergency to a close at the end at June.
In the orders (you can read them here and here) Kemp simultaneously extended an order that was set to expire on Tuesday, until midnight next Thursday, July 1, and then declared the emergency over beyond that point.
It’s the last of 16 extensions of the Empowering A Healthy Georgia Act approved by the Georgia legislature during a special session in March 2020, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The law gave the governor additional powers during the pandemic, including business, school and other closures, as well as efforts to protect vulnerable populations, restrict public gatherings and travel, and to mobilize for vaccinations.
“I appreciate the General Assembly granting my office this authority in order to swiftly and appropriately respond to the coronavirus pandemic,” Kemp said in a statement issued by his office Tuesday. “We worked together—along with the Department of Public Health, dozens of state agencies, local leaders, private sector partners, and countless others—to protect both lives and livelihoods.
“Thanks to those efforts, more Georgians are getting vaccinated, our economic momentum is strong, and people are getting back to normal. We have emerged resilient, and I thank all Georgians for doing their part.”
Kemp’s office said there will be one final executive order coming next week, to continue providing aid for “the state and Georgia job creators as they fully recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, which will include the suspension of various state rules and regulations.”
The end of the public health emergency comes as COVID case, hospitalization and death rates are at their lowest since the pandemic began.
According to the Georgia Department of Public Health, the level of community spread of the virus is almost non-existent.
Over the last two weeks, the cases per 100,000 people has averaged 36 (100 is considered “high” community spread), and fewer than 4,000 cases have been reported across the state.
The 7-day moving average of both PCR and antigen tests is 260 statewide, as of June 10.
In Cobb County, the 14-day average of cases per 100,000 people is 32, with 251 new cases reported in that time. The 7-day moving averages of cases as of June 10 was 19.7.
Since the pandemic began, there have been 901,723 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Georgia, and 18,426 deaths.
There have been 62,073 cases and 1,008 confirmed deaths in Cobb County since March 2020.
Georgia continues to lag in vaccination rates, compared to other states.
The state DPH vaccine dashboard shows that 42 percent of all eligible Georgians (ages 12 and older) have received at least the first dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, and that 37 percent are “fully vaccinated” with second doses of those vaccines or the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
In Cobb County, 50 percent of eligible residents have received at least one dose, and 44 percent are “fully vaccinated.”
Cobb and Douglas Public Health wound down vaccination distribution efforts at Jim Miller Park last week, but continues to offer free vaccines around the county at various locations for an indefinite time.
Related content
- Cobb issues COVID scam alert for federal relief funds
- Cobb COVID cases continue fall below “high community spread”
- Cobb COVID update: “We’re on the right track”
- Health director: 21 percent of Cobb citizens vaccinated
- Cobb COVID-19 deaths near 1,000; 200+ in East Cobb
- Cobb COVID vaccine call center launches
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