A press briefing was held on Friday, August 28, 2020, at 10 a.m. in Room 100 of the Government Center at 222 Pine Avenue to update citizens via Facebook 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 re- mains 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, and Dougherty County Board of Com- missioners Chairman Cohilas emphasized to the community the importance of continuing to practice safety and preventative measures with COVID-19 on the rise in the area. They strongly encouraged citizens to continue to wear masks, wash hands, sanitize, and practice social dis- tancing and to avoid large social gatherings to prevent the spread of the disease. In addition, encouragement to complete Census 2020 was provided by the Chairman and Mayor. Updates were also provided by Dr. Black, Phoebe Health Systems, Dr. Charles Ruis, Department of Pub- lic Health’s Southwest District, and Dougherty County Coroner Michael Fowler.

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: The Dougherty County School System
(DCSS) has completed rolling school start dates to include the following: High School Students
(Grades 9-12), started August 17th; Middle School Students (Grades 6-8), started August 24th.
Elementary School Students (Grades PK-5), begin today, Monday, August 31st. An online in-
structional model was implemented to include asynchronous and synchronous learning; teacher
directed/assigned instruction; self-paced personalized practice on assignment (homework);
Livestream and recorded instruction, using one of their district approved digital platforms; parent
resources for additional academic support; and use of approved evidence-based interventions
for students in special populations, including ESP and ESOL. Device distribution dates were as
follows: High School, August 3-7; Middle School, August 10-14; and Elementary School, August
17-21. Meal distributions resumed on August 3rd with Monday and Wednesday deliveries only.
Routes are based on high school clusters.

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

Updates from Dougherty County Public Health, Southwest District: COVID-19 testing re- mains 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 in- clude the following counties: Colquitt, Decatur, Dougherty, Grady, Lee, Mitchell, Terrell, Thomas, and Worth.

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: The Dougherty County Judicial Building will be lim- ited with strict guidelines for visitors and through September 11, 2020, unless the State of Geor- gia decides to extend the Judicial Order. For the full list of guidelines for the Dougherty County Judicial Circuit and to view the latest Judicial order, visit http://dougherty.ga.us/filestor- age/1800/379008/379647/Dougherty_Emergency_Order_August_14_2020.pdf

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 Media- comm’s Channel 16, Government Channel.

The next COVID-19 press briefing is scheduled for Friday, September 11, 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.