CORONAVIRUS

Augusta mayor outlines phased reopening plan for government offices

Jozsef Papp
jpapp@augustachronicle.com
Augusta Mayor Hardie Davis speaks during a press conference at the Municipal Building in Augusta, Ga., Friday morning May 8, 2020. [MICHAEL HOLAHAN/THE AUGUSTA CHRONICLE]

Augusta Mayor Hardie Davis outlined Friday how the city government will conduct a phased reopening starting next week.

“I want everyone to be aware that this reopening plan is a fluid plan, with local government reopening,” he said. “It is subject to change at any time, in order to protect the health and welfare of our entire community.”

On Tuesday, one-fourth of the workforce will be returning to work, but buildings will not be open to the public. Departments reopening Monday include human resources, the tax commissioner and assessors office, engineering, planning and development, utilities, clerk of commission and environmental services.

Davis said physical barriers will be installed at those front-facing offices, as needed. In addition, all those entering the municipal building will be required to wear a mask at all times and sanitize their hands upon entry.

Phase two will take place May 18, with an additional 25 percent of the workforce returning and the municipal building open to the public. During both phases, some staff will continue to work remotely.

“We will continue to telework through this pandemic until further notice. It is not required that all 2,800 employees of Augusta-Richmond County come back into the building or buildings that we have,” Davis said. “It is equally important for us, not only to be concerned about the general public, but to also be concern about those employees who suit up every single day.”

On June 1, phase three will be implemented with almost 100 percet of the workforce returning, while some continue to telework, but provide full services. Davis said the library will also be reopening June 1, but a phased-in approach will be used for some recreation facilities, while parks will continue to be open.

Davis said it will be a required for anyone entering the municipal building to wear a masks. Augusta Fire/EMA director Christopher James said t residents coming into city facilities are encouraged to wear a masks and masks will be provided to those who are not wearing one.

“We encourage all citizens that will be coming to any of the city facilities that you have a masks,” James said. “If you don’t have a mask and show up, then our Marshall’s Office will provide you with a mask, but we encourage you to kind of control our burn rate to bring in or wear your own mask.”

In the event an employee tests positive for coronavirus, James and Davis said a process is in place to stop the spread among government employees. James said an employee who tests positive will be sent home for 14 days and receive medical attention through the employee’s doctor.

Once an employee is sent home, Central Services would sanitize the employee’s area. James said some contact tracing will be done to see who the employee came in contact with and they would be require to wear masks and have their temperature taken at least twice a day to ensure no symptoms.

Testing will also be available to those that came in contact with a positive case.

“If they aren’t displaying any symptoms and have not had the test or they just want to take a test, then we would assure those employees are tested,” James said. “If they are showing any symptoms, they will have to be tested and released back to work upon a doctor’s release.”

Davis is encouraging all citizens to continue to practice social distance and wear a face covering or masks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, as government offices begin to reopen.

“The safety and wellbeing of our citizens continues to be our number one concern and priority. We want to do everything we can to flatten the curve,” Davis said. “I want to encourage all of Augustans to take this coronavirus seriously, it is a silent and a very violent killer.”

A variety of other topic relating to COVID-19 were discussed at the news conference:

Bars: As the governor’s order on bars, nightclubs, amusement ride operators and live performance venues is set to expire next week, Sheriff Richard Roundtree said they have begun to contact each bar owner to ensure they follow social distancing guidelines and guidelines set forth by the governor’s office.

“We are personally making contact with all the bar owners in anticipation of the May 14 opening to make sure that they follow the guidelines,” Roundtree said.

The governor’s office has not released guidelines for bars to follow as they make plans to reopen next week, however, Roundtree said they are going to be monitoring bars because of the unintended consequences related to the reopening. Roundtree said they are expecting an increase in residents from outside of Richmond County t once bars reopen.

Roundtree said they have been in contact with every bar, especially with those who employ off duty deputy, about compliance with the governor’s order. He said their goal is to make sure the bars open safely and don’t have to be closed for the night.

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“My deputies have been instructed that the moment they do not follow compliance that establishment is to be shut down for that evening,” he said.

James said the fire marshal and fire prevention officers will be out May 14 assisting the sheriff’s office with occupancy questions and other concerns to ensure no overcrowding as bars reopen. He said each establishment should have occupancy posted and they should cut that number in half to determine how many people can be inside.

Fire Station testing: James and East Central Health District Director Dr. Stephen Goggans classified the testing done at fire station 1 as a “success” after more than 260 people were tested Wednesday.

“We saw a huge success in our first COVID-19 testing at fire station 1. We were expecting and were prepared for possibly 150 on the top end and actually thought we would have 60 to 70 folks show up that day,” James said.

James said they ended up testing 267 citizens and placed 110 people on a list to be the first to be tested next Friday at Lamar-Milledge Elementary School in Harrisburg. James said the plan was originally to continue using fire stations, but after consulting with the sheriff’s office and seeing the amount of traffic, they decided to move it to a bigger location with easier access.

James said people from all over the area including Hephzibah, Evans, Grovetown and North Augusta showed up to get tested Wednesday.

“Augusta is truly a regional hub, not only in government and operation, but citizens across this area get services from Augusta,” he said. “We learned a lot of things from that testing”

On Friday, May 15, testing will be available from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Lamar Milledge Elementary School with a line set up for those that pre-register by calling 311 and another line for walk-ups, which will take longer since people have to register. Results will be available 72 hours after testing.

“We want to encourage everyone who wants a test to call and schedule a test,” Goggans said.

Large Gatherings: Roundtree reiterated Friday that the gathering of large groups continues to be a problem, specially as restrictions begin to be lifted. Over the weekend, he said they had over 100 cars congregating in a parking lot on Washington Road with most tags from out of state and out of Richmond County.

“These groups pose a danger, not only to themselves, but to these first responders that we have to respond to this call,” he said. “If you remove a first responder, it is a resource this community has lost for a minimum of 14 days.”

Roundtree said they have been fortunate that the sheriff’s office has only had three confirmed cases with the amount of calls for service they have received since the pandemic began. He said there is concern that, as the state reopens, people are using Richmond County as a gathering place.

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