A press briefing was held on Friday, September 25, 2020, at 10 a.m. in Room 100 of the Government Center at 222 Pine Avenue to update citizens via Face- book Live, Government Access Channel 16, WALB-TV, and WFXL-TV Live on the current state of the community for the COVID-19 pandemic. The Emergency Operations Center (EOC) also remains open until further notice, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily by calling 229.302.1900.

At Friday’s briefing, City of Albany Mayor Bo Dorough, emphasized to the community the im- portance of participating in antibody testing being conducted for Dougherty County residents by Augusta University medical team and why it’s important to the community. He also continued to practice safety and preventative measures with COVID-19, strongly encouraging citizens to con- tinue to wear masks, wash hands, sanitize, and practice social distancing and to avoid large so- cial gatherings to prevent the spread of the disease.

A partnership between the City of Albany, Dougherty County, the Dougherty County School System, and Augusta University, antibody testing is being conducted to help better understand the scope of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Albany and Dougherty County community. Citizens can pre-register by calling 706.721.4905. Space is limited and appointments are required. Test- ing opened on September 16th and will end on September 29th at the Albany Civic Center from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday. Updates were also provided by Dr. Steve Kitchen, Phoebe Health Systems, Dr. Charles Ruis, Department of Public Health’s Southwest District, Dougherty County Coroner Michael Fowler, and Dougherty County School System Director of Community Relations, LaKisha Bruce.

The City of Albany and Dougherty County Government offices and buildings opened to the pub- lic on Monday, June 22, 2020, for regular business hours, with city and county employees re- turning to work on the Phase One schedule, which will continue to remain in place until further notice. Officials will continue to monitor conditions and will decide when to move to Phase Two of the Return to Work Plan for Dougherty County. Visitors to any city and county buildings will be required to wear a mask prior to entering.

Updates from Dougherty County School System (DCSS): Rolling School start dates are
September 28th (for Grades PreK-2) and Oct. 5th (for Grades 3-5). At this time, no dates have
been set for middle and high school students. Only students that should be returning to school
are those students that schools have spoken to parents and confirmed the choice of returning to
on-campus instruction. Students are not to return without confirmation. All other students should
remain in online instruction at this time. Sending students back for on-campus, in-person in-
struction is not mandatory. Parents must choose. The DCSS plan was designed with safety and
flexibility in mind. For those students returning to in-person instruction, masks will be required to
be worn at all times. DCSS also noted that there is no uniform policy for Grades K-5, but school
dress code will be enforced. The Extended Day Program will not begin next week, however,
2020-2021 Program Information will be shared in the coming weeks. A COVID-19 Dashboard
will be available and updated on the DCSS website with any employee and student cases. Up-
dates will be posted on Fridays beginning October 2nd and parents will be notified of cases in
their student’s school and/or in their classroom. Fall sports have resumed for DCSS with
COVID-19 safety measures in place, including the requirement of masks, temperature checks,
social distancing, crowd limitations, and touchless ticketing. Meal Distributions will be on Sun-
day and Wednesday afternoons. Routes are based on high school clusters and information is
posted on the DCSS website at docoschools.org/reopen. Masks and the practice of social dis-
tancing are required when at the bus stops for meal pickups. Meal Pickups will be on Sunday
and Wednesday from 4pm to 6pm and Mondays and Thursdays from 10am to 12pm at Albany
Middle, Merry Acres Middle, Dougherty High, Monroe High, and Westover High. Parents are in-
vited to create their account and update their information on the Infinite Campus Parent Portal
by visiting docoschools.org, click on Resources, and Click on Parent Portal. Drivers are re-
minded that beginning today, September 28th, School Zones will be enforced for bus safety and
urge drivers to pay attention to these when flashing.

For more information and additional updates, visit docoschools.org/reopen.

Updates from Dougherty County Public Health, Southwest District (DPH): COVID-19 test- ing remains available for all Georgians through the Department of Public Health. Appointments are strongly encouraged and residents can schedule an appointment 24/7 at covid19.dph.ga.gov or call the hotline Monday through Saturday at 229.352.6567. Public Health Testing Locations include the following counties: Colquitt, Decatur, Dougherty, Grady, Lee, Mitchell, Terrell, Thomas, and Worth. DPH also encourages citizens to prevent the flu by getting themselves and their family vaccinated. Contact DPH at 229.352.6567 for more information.

For information about COVID-19, visit https://dph.georgia.gov/novelcoronavirus or https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html.

Updates from Dougherty County Judicial: On Thursday, September 24, 2020, at 1 p.m., Superior Court Chief Judge Willie Lockette held a press conference in Courtroom 218 of the Dougherty County Judicial Building located at 225 Pine Avenue, where he updated the public on the start-up of holding Grand Jury in the Dougherty County Judicial Circuit.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, multiple Declarations of Judicial Emergency have been
transmitted by Chief Justice Harold Melton of the Supreme Court of Georgia for the Dougherty
Judicial Circuit. The most recent order, initiated on September 11, 2020, extended the order
through October 10, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. Under these orders, all courts in the Dougherty Judicial
Circuit were directed to continue to use teleconferences and video conferences as the preferred
alternative to in-person proceedings to conduct both essential and non-essential civil and crimi-
nal proceedings, whenever possible.

With regard to Grand Jury Proceedings and Jury Trials, the Courts in the Dougherty Judicial Cir-
cuit were ordered to proceed under discretion of the Superior Court Chief Judge, who is allowed
to amend the Order to incorporate any clarifications, guidelines and procedures that are to be
adopted for the resumption of Grand Jury proceedings, as well as jury trials. During the Thurs-
day press conference, Chief Judge Lockette presented the procedures and guidelines that will
be set forth in regard to Grand Jury proceedings for the Dougherty Judicial Circuit.
The press conference was broadcast live on the Dougherty County Georgia Government Face- book page. Viewers can tune in at facebook.com/Dougherty.ga.us. For the latest Declaration of
Judicial Emergency Order, visit https://www.dougherty.ga.us/visitors-community/news-
events/public-notices/declaration-of-judicial-emergency,-september-11,-2020.

CITY OF ALBANY COUNCIL MEETINGS & DOUGHERTY COUNTY COMMISSION MEET- INGS: The City of Albany and Dougherty County boards will continue to hold regular meetings virtually and will be available via Facebook Live on the City of Albany Facebook page and the Dougherty County Georgia Government Facebook page. Visitors can also view the meetings on Mediacomm’s Channel 16, Government Channel.

The next COVID-19 press briefing is scheduled for Friday, October 9, 2020, at 10 a.m. For the latest updates on the Coronavirus and its effects on Dougherty County, stay tuned to our Facebook page @DoughertyCountyGeorgiaGovernment, and on Twitter and Instagram pages @1doughertycoga. Or, call the EOC line at 229.302.1900, for more information.
For statewide updates, visit dph.georgia.gov. For national information, visit cdc.gov.