In Georgia, Shelter-in-Place Order Closes Businesses and Reopens Beaches

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/04/us/coronavirus-georgia-beaches.html

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ATLANTA — Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia signed a shelter-in-place order on Thursday, shutting down restaurant dining rooms, barbershops, bars and gyms across the state. He called it an effort to buy critical time as Georgia braced for a surge in cases of the coronavirus.

Yet as soon as the order went into effect the next evening, the sandy beaches on Tybee Island, which had been closed for two weeks, were once again open to the public.

The executive order signed by Mr. Kemp, who had been among the governors resisting more-stringent measures, has stirred a backlash from some local officials as it superseded their efforts to curb the virus’s spread, particularly in coastal communities that had moved to close beaches on their own.

“No one wants to walk on the beach more than I,” Shirley Sessions, the mayor of Tybee Island, a community of about 3,000 people just below the South Carolina state line, said in a letter to Mr. Kemp. “However, I firmly believe it is a small sacrifice to pay in the long run to help conquer this Covid-19 enemy.”

State officials said that the rules maintain social distancing and discourage beachgoers from spreading out on the sand. Congregating is forbidden. Tents and chairs are not allowed. State law enforcement officials will also ramp up patrols on the beaches, in parking lots and on the highways leading to the coast.

“People who voluntarily leave their shelters to go to our beaches can only do so for the purpose of outdoor exercise,” Josh Hildebrandt, a spokesman for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, said in a statement.

The dispute in Georgia reflects the tensions that have flared between state and local officials across the country in responding to the pandemic. In South Carolina, some of its largest cities implemented stay-at-home ordinances after Gov. Henry McMaster delayed in ordering those measures, prompting the State Attorney General’s Office to weigh in. It issued an opinion that said such authority belonged to the governor and not municipal officials.

In Florida, some believed that a statewide order issued by Gov. Ron DeSantis might override tougher ordinances enacted by cities, but he made it clear that it outlined minimum guidelines.

Mr. Kemp, a Republican, faced increasing criticism over the past week as he avoided implementing stricter orders that many states had already employed.

He also was among the governors who cited fears of wrecking local economies and argued that they believed in maintaining personal responsibility, rather than issuing a mandate. Most of the governors contended that although they did not implement stay-at-home orders, they acted aggressively in other ways. But over the last few days, some of those governors relented.

In Alabama, Gov. Kay Ivey signed an executive order that went into effect on Saturday evening. “Late yesterday afternoon, it became obvious that more has to be done,” she said in a news conference on Friday, adding, “Bottom line: Folks just aren’t paying attention.”

The shelter-in-place order in Georgia went into effect on Friday at 6 p.m. and expires on April 13. Mr. Kemp argued that the action was necessary as the state prepared for a sharp rise in cases expected in the coming days.

“To win this war, we have to hunker down and continue to chop a lot of wood,” Mr. Kemp said at a news conference on Thursday, adding, “It is best you stay home. For the most part, Georgians are heeding this advice and I couldn’t be more grateful for that.”

But officials in some of the local beach communities argued that the order stood to hurt their efforts.

Updated June 5, 2020

So far, the evidence seems to show it does. A widely cited paper published in April suggests that people are most infectious about two days before the onset of coronavirus symptoms and estimated that 44 percent of new infections were a result of transmission from people who were not yet showing symptoms. Recently, a top expert at the World Health Organization stated that transmission of the coronavirus by people who did not have symptoms was “very rare,” but she later walked back that statement.

A study by European scientists is the first to document a strong statistical link between genetic variations and Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Having Type A blood was linked to a 50 percent increase in the likelihood that a patient would need to get oxygen or to go on a ventilator, according to the new study.

The unemployment rate fell to 13.3 percent in May, the Labor Department said on June 5, an unexpected improvement in the nation’s job market as hiring rebounded faster than economists expected. Economists had forecast the unemployment rate to increase to as much as 20 percent, after it hit 14.7 percent in April, which was the highest since the government began keeping official statistics after World War II. But the unemployment rate dipped instead, with employers adding 2.5 million jobs, after more than 20 million jobs were lost in April.

Mass protests against police brutality that have brought thousands of people onto the streets in cities across America are raising the specter of new coronavirus outbreaks, prompting political leaders, physicians and public health experts to warn that the crowds could cause a surge in cases. While many political leaders affirmed the right of protesters to express themselves, they urged the demonstrators to wear face masks and maintain social distancing, both to protect themselves and to prevent further community spread of the virus. Some infectious disease experts were reassured by the fact that the protests were held outdoors, saying the open air settings could mitigate the risk of transmission.

Exercise researchers and physicians have some blunt advice for those of us aiming to return to regular exercise now: Start slowly and then rev up your workouts, also slowly. American adults tended to be about 12 percent less active after the stay-at-home mandates began in March than they were in January. But there are steps you can take to ease your way back into regular exercise safely. First, “start at no more than 50 percent of the exercise you were doing before Covid,” says Dr. Monica Rho, the chief of musculoskeletal medicine at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago. Thread in some preparatory squats, too, she advises. “When you haven’t been exercising, you lose muscle mass.” Expect some muscle twinges after these preliminary, post-lockdown sessions, especially a day or two later. But sudden or increasing pain during exercise is a clarion call to stop and return home.

States are reopening bit by bit. This means that more public spaces are available for use and more and more businesses are being allowed to open again. The federal government is largely leaving the decision up to states, and some state leaders are leaving the decision up to local authorities. Even if you aren’t being told to stay at home, it’s still a good idea to limit trips outside and your interaction with other people.

Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus — whether it’s surface transmission or close human contact — is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks.

Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days.

If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.)

Taking one’s temperature to look for signs of fever is not as easy as it sounds, as “normal” temperature numbers can vary, but generally, keep an eye out for a temperature of 100.5 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. If you don’t have a thermometer (they can be pricey these days), there are other ways to figure out if you have a fever, or are at risk of Covid-19 complications.

The C.D.C. has recommended that all Americans wear cloth masks if they go out in public. This is a shift in federal guidance reflecting new concerns that the coronavirus is being spread by infected people who have no symptoms. Until now, the C.D.C., like the W.H.O., has advised that ordinary people don’t need to wear masks unless they are sick and coughing. Part of the reason was to preserve medical-grade masks for health care workers who desperately need them at a time when they are in continuously short supply. Masks don’t replace hand washing and social distancing.

If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others.

If you’re sick and you think you’ve been exposed to the new coronavirus, the C.D.C. recommends that you call your healthcare provider and explain your symptoms and fears. They will decide if you need to be tested. Keep in mind that there’s a chance — because of a lack of testing kits or because you’re asymptomatic, for instance — you won’t be able to get tested.

“We had carefully considered ways to keep people safe here and the governor’s order has undermined everything we were doing,” Peter Murphy, a commissioner in Glynn County who represents St. Simons Island, a coastal resort area, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. St. Simons Island beaches had closed on March 21.

On Tybee Island, which closed its beaches on March 20, officials expressed fears of endangering the health of residents and taxing the local police force. Indeed, Ms. Sessions, the mayor, said that all six of its officers are quarantined. Officials said the city is not opening parking lots and lifeguards will not be on duty.

Game wardens reported that the beaches across the state remained largely quiet and there were no problems with maintaining social distancing. On Saturday, the conditions on Tybee Island were ideal for a day at the beach: sunny and about 70 degrees. But beach cameras showed a spread of empty sand with the occasional person strolling past or splashing in the water.