University System News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Kemp signs Georgia dual enrollment bill
By Eric Stirgus
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp quietly signed a much-debated bill into law this week aimed at reducing how many college courses that high school students can take under the state’s popular dual enrollment program. The changes in House Bill 444 would restrict students to a total of 30 college credit hours that would be paid through state funds, and limits the program, with some exceptions, to only 11th-and 12th-grade students. The legislation becomes law on July 1.
Albany Herald
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College rings chimes for nurses at 7 p.m. each evening
From Staff Reports
Gentle music wafts through the stately pines at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College at 7 p.m. each night when ABAC pays tribute to the nurses on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic that has engulfed the nation. “We honor all the nurses across the state and country who are risking their lives every day during this struggle against the coronavirus,” ABAC Media Productions Coordinator Matthew Reid said. “We saw what some other places were doing, such as the nightly cheers every night at 7 in Manhattan, and we wanted to do something special.” Emanating from the bell tower at ABAC’s Chapel of All Faiths, the music reaches several blocks in all directions. The soft melody flows across a nearly empty campus because all ABAC students are completing spring semester instruction online.
CBS46
UGA opens campus for Fall classes, football to resume
Angelina Velasquez
Students pursuing their post-secondary education will be returning to campus classrooms in the Fall at the University of Georgia. For thousands of students it has been nearly two months since they were last allowed to be on campus in light of COVID-19. As for courses offered during the Maymester and Summer, students will have to complete them online as the university errs on the side of caution. UGA President Jere W. Morehead sent the following letter to students, staff and faculty on April 29 regarding on-campus and distance learning: …With students returning to campus this also means the Bulldogs will take the field for football season. A NCAA requirement for schools to participate in the Fall sporting season was that students must be able to return to campus.
The George-Anne
Georgia Southern plans return to in-person classes in the fall
University President Kyle Marrero announced the anticipated return in a video update
By Blakeley Bartee
Georgia Southern University’s President Kyle Marrero announced in a video update Tuesday that the university plans to return to in-person classes in the fall. “We’re working through contingency plans now on what that will look like, but it is my hope that we will soon again see you on our beautiful campuses this fall,” Marrero said in the video. The remainder of the spring semester and the summer semester will continue to be online-only due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In terms of cost, Marrero said summer’s online courses will be a good value due to a reduction in fees. Additionally, the University System of Georgia will not increase tuition for the 2020-2021 academic year. “In fact, this summer may be the best time for you to further your progress toward your degree. The Board of Regents has reduced all mandatory fees for the summer semester to only institutional fee and technology fee,” Marrero said in the video.
The Red & Black
OPINION: What UGA must do to make in-person instruction in the fall safer
Stroud Payne | Opinion Editor
There’s been plenty of speculation about whether the University System of Georgia would hold in-person classes in the fall. In an April 29 Archnews email, the University of Georgia seemingly put those discussions to rest by announcing plans to resume in-person instruction in the fall after a “phased, gradual reopening” in the summer. I would certainly like to return to the Athens campus for the fall semester. However, keeping a large student body healthy poses some logistical challenges. UGA must address these to ensure it is safe to be on campus. It’s important to keep in mind there’s still a chance in-person classes won’t be held in the fall. In the Archnews email, UGA President Jere Morehead said the situation is “fluid” and that the university will receive advice from Georgia public health officials. It’s also just hard to know where we’ll be in a few months, especially given the possibility of a second wave.
Georgia Trend
Connecting farmers to those needing food
By Mary Ann Demuth
Recent news reports of farmers discarding their produce and milk because of COVID-19-related distribution disruptions have been disheartening, especially since so many more people are now in need of food. Fortunately, agricultural institutions in our state are working together to help remedy both problems. The Georgia Department of Agriculture’s Georgia Grown program and the University of Georgia (UGA) Cooperative Extension service are teaming up to connect the state’s farmers and agricultural producers with consumers and other buyers. Georgia Grown, a membership service that promotes state agribusinesses, is waiving its fees until July to help agricultural operations affected by the pandemic. Farmers who produce fruits, vegetables, seafood, meats, dairy, poultry products and other foods can join the program on the Georgia Grown site. Their information will be added to a statewide database of producers that is shared with buyers and consumers. UGA Extension is supporting the efforts via its network of county agents and specialists, who have relationships with state farmers and producers.
The Herald Gazette
GSC turning out face shields via 3D printer
Posted by Walter Geiger
Dr. Victor Vilchiz, dean of the GSC nursing school, and his staff are using two 3D printers on campus to turn out components for face shields and distributing them to area hospitals and first responders. The printing is time-consuming – about three hours – but, by the end of last week, about 100 had been completed and distributed. The printers can be left active overnight and can turn out components for eight masks by morning
WALB
GSW donates personal protective equipment
By Bradford Ambrose
Two departments at Georgia Southwestern State University donated more than 5,000 pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE). The College of Nursing and Health Sciences and the Department of Public Safety gave the PPE to Phoebe Sumter and Middle Flint Behavioral Healthcare.
The Red & Black
UGA student organizes donation of 7,000 masks to Georgia hospitals
Dania Kalaji | Contributor
Charley Sun said he felt true pain once he saw xenophobia spreading against Asian Americans on the news as the COVID-19 pandemic worsened. Yet, as he saw a shortage of personal protective equipment, Sun was motivated to help health care workers in any way he could. “Being a Chinese American myself, it’s painful to hear about … but once I found out our hospitals were short-handed on masks, I wanted to help out our health care professionals who are the most important people right now,” said Sun. Sun, a sophomore business management major from Marietta, said he has donated a total of 7,315 masks to hospitals including Wellstar Kennestone Hospital in Marietta, Northside Hospital Cherokee in Canton, Piedmont Athens Regional Medical Center and Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany. Sun donated 1,660 masks to PARMC.
Time
Rural America Needs Help From the Rest of the Country to Face COVID-19
By Dr. Jennifer Olsen
Dr. Olsen, an experienced epidemiologist, serves as executive director of the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving, which promotes the health, strength and resilience of caregivers throughout the United States
Drive any country road in Georgia during harvest season, and you’ll pass roadside stands emblazoned with the words that could well serve as rural America’s cultural anthem: “Home Grown.” Whether it’s peaches or potatoes, a diner or a driving range, Americans on farms and ranches and in small towns often support themselves on what they create. They take pride in their ability to take care of themselves and take care of their own. This trademark self-sufficiency, coupled with an anemic public health infrastructure and limited access to essentials like fresh food and medicine, pose unique threats to rural America as COVID-19 marches relentlessly across the U.S. Without novel approaches to reaching rural residents with information on how to stay healthy and a rapid scaling of public health systems, the disease may hit even harder in rural areas than it has in cities. …What are the rural realities that risk more Dougherty Counties, and how do we prevent it?
Other News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
BREAKING: Georgia verifies 1K new COVID-19 cases in 24 hours
By Chelsea Prince
State health officials have confirmed an additional 1,000 cases of the new coronavirus in the past 24 hours, bringing Georgia’s total infections above 27,000. As of noon Thursday, the Georgia Department of Public Health was reporting just over 26,000 confirmed cases. That number now stands at 27,023, according to data released at 11:25 a.m. Friday. At least 1,140 Georgians have died of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus. The health department verified an additional 33 deaths since midday Thursday.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
BREAKING: Kemp to lift statewide shelter-in-place for most Georgians on Friday
By Greg Bluestein
Governor also urges Georgians to wear masks
Gov. Brian Kemp will lift a statewide shelter-in-place order for most of Georgia’s 10.6 million residents starting Friday as he continues to roll back coronavirus restrictions, though he urges Georgians to stay at home when possible to contain the pandemic. Kemp’s order Thursday extends rules that require businesses to follow safety guidelines through May 13 and mandated that elderly and “medically fragile” residents shelter in place through June 12. Nursing home restrictions were also extended until mid-June.
But Kemp told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that it was time to lift other measures to help revive Georgia’s tattered economy, stressing that a ramp-up in testing and increased hospital capacity helped influence his decision. “What we’ve done has worked,” Kemp said in the interview. “It’s given us time to build our hospital infrastructure capacity, get ventilators and ramp up testing. That’s what really drove our decision.” He also urged Georgians to wear a mask in public places such as grocery stores, though he and his top health adviser said residents can be more flexible when in parks, beaches and other places where there’s room to space out.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Hours before stay-at-home order ends, COVID-19 deaths in Georgia increase to 1,132
By Chelsea Prince and Zachary Hansen
UPDATE [6:30 p.m.]: Hours after Gov. Brian Kemp announced that he will not be extending the state’s shelter-in-place policy for the majority of Georgians, state officials announced 25 additional coronavirus deaths. The Georgia Department of Public Health has recorded 1,132 deaths due to COVID-19, including 37 in the past 24 hours. The DPH also added 227 confirmed cases of COVID-19 to Georgia’s count, raising the number of total cases to 26,260.
11Alive
Here’s what restrictions remain, once Georgia’s statewide shelter-in-place order expires
There are still detailed guidelines for many businesses.
Author: Jennifer Bellamy, 11Alive Staff
Georgia’s main statewide shelter-in-place order will expire at midnight April 30 for many of us, but there are still restrictions in place for some Georgians. Gov. Brian Kemp has extended the shelter-in-place order for several groups through June 12, about a month-and-a-half from now. Those groups include people 65 years old and older, those living in nursing homes or long-term care facilities, and those with preexisting conditions like chronic lung disease, severe heart disease, diabetes, moderate to severe asthma, and severe obesity, to name a few.
The Macon Telegraph
Georgia gets an ‘F’ in social distancing, data shows. Which counties did the worst?
By Tanasia Kenney
Social distancing efforts seem to have gone out the window across much of Georgia, new data suggests. The Peach State was among nearly a dozen states to earn a failing grade in the latest scores released by Unacast, a company utilizing cellphone location data to gain insight about our movements and behavior. Its colorful, interactive map is updated daily and ranks states based on how well they adhere to social distancing guidance issued in response to the coronavirus. As of Thursday, there were more than 26,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Georgia and 1,112 deaths, according to the state’s Department of Public Health. On April 24, Gov. Brian Kemp gave the go ahead for several businesses to reopen, including gyms, barbershops, bowling alleys and others …The day before Kemp’s decision to reopen parts of the economy, Georgia had a social distancing score of C. It dropped to a D the following day, bounced back to a C on April 25 and fell, yet again, to a D before landing at an F on April 28, the map shows.
Albany Herald
10% of COVID-19 cases in Georgia are among health care workers
By Andy Miller Georgia Health News
Ten percent of the people known to have been infected with COVID-19 in Georgia are health care workers, state figures show. The Public Health data, as of midday Thursday, show that of the 2,600 infected health care personnel in the state, 81 percent are female. Half are African-American. Workplace exposure to COVID-19 patients is a major cause.
Albany Herald
Sen. David Perdue to introduce bill to address shortage of doctors, nurses
By Dave Williams Bureau Chief Capitol Beat News Service
U.S. Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., is planning to introduce bipartisan legislation aimed at relieving the nation’s shortage of doctors and nurses critically needed to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. The bill would recapture and reallocate 25,000 unused immigrant visas for nurses and 15,000 for doctors and instruct the State Department and Department of Homeland Security to expedite processing them. “The growing shortage of doctors and nurses over the past decade has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis,” Perdue said. “Fortunately, there are thousands of trained health professionals who want to practice in the United States. This proposal would simply reallocate a limited number of unused visas from prior years for doctors and nurses who are qualified to help in our fight against COVID-19.”