Georgia Trend Daily – March 23, 2020
March 23, 2020 The Center Square
Georgia sees significant amount of unemployment claims after coronavirus outbreak
Nyamekye Daniel reports that Georgia unemployment claims have increased sharply amid the COVID-19 outbreak, according to the state’s Department of Labor. Representatives for the department could not release specific numbers, but spokeswoman Julianna Cline said Friday the office that handles the claims have received what was once considered a weekly amount in one day.
March 23, 2020 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
CyberKnife® M6 —Reimagining Cancer Treatment
Julia Roberts reports, imagine battling cancer not once, but twice. It’s a daunting prospect for anyone, but that was the situation facing Fernandina Beach, Florida resident, Phil Whitaker. In 2016, Whitaker was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
March 23, 2020 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Coca-Cola: production not disrupted; but financial results will be
Matt Kempner reports that Coca-Cola Company said it doesn’t anticipate the coronavirus will disrupt the drink production of its vast system. But the company will fall short of its previous financial expectations for the year as people avoid or are cut off from many of the places where its beverages are sold.
March 23, 2020 Atlanta Business Chronicle
These Georgia public companies were slammed in the latest coronavirus selloff
Crystal Edmondson reports that many of Georgia’s publicly-traded companies have seen their stock prices take a hit in light of the COVID-19 coronavirus. The auto parts company Genuine Parts (NYSE: GPC) saw its stock shift into reverse. The price dropped 24% between March 16-20.
March 23, 2020 GlobalAtlanta.com
After Helping Globally, Coca-Cola Donates Coronavirus Relief Funds to U.S., Canada Nonprofits
Trevor Williams reports that after issuing more than $2 million in grants and in-kind support to help China and Italy fight the coronavirus outbreak, Coca-Coca Co. now is doing so in its own backyard as North America faces a surge in cases.
March 23, 2020 Cherokee Tribune Ledger-News
Attorney General: Beware of scams related to pandemic
Staff reports that Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr on Sunday afternoon warned state residents about scams related to the novel coronavirus pandemic. He also offered advice on how to avoid scams.
March 23, 2020 Athens Banner-Herald
Gun, ammo sales ‘through the roof’ in Athens, nationwide
Wayne Ford reports that the coronavirus scare has sparked a huge run on food and paper products, but lesser known is the high demand for guns and ammunition. Gun sales “are going through the roof,” Franklin Gun Shop owner Mark Franklin of Athens said last week. “In the last six days, we’ve done four times the business that is normal this time of the year.”
March 23, 2020 Marietta Daily Journal
FDA asks Georgia to allow Sterigenics to sterilize medical equipment amid coronavirus outbreak
Shannon Ballew reports that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has asked Gov. Brian Kemp to allow Sterigenics to open its closed facility in Cobb County and sterilize medical equipment needed in the fight against the new coronavirus. A letter from FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn says there is a shortage of personal protective equipment like masks, gloves and respirators that are especially needed during the COVID-19 outbreak.
March 23, 2020 Valdosta Daily News, CNHI
Tipping Point: Telemedicine leaders look to fill urgent need for remote care
Riley Bunch reports that the push for telemedicine across Georgia has been slow, but with health officials cautioning patients to avoid hospitals amid the COVID-19 outbreak, proponents say it’s needed more than ever. The state’s top health officials have urged the elderly and chronic disease patients to stay out of hospitals for risk of infection and have pleaded that healthy, low-risk residents stay at home to reduce spread of coronavirus.
March 23, 2020 Georgia Health News
Rural Hospitals: A new crisis on top of the old one
Andy Miller reports thata Georgia’s rural hospitals have faced financial challenges for a long time. Even the recent economic boom was not enough to pull them out of the ditch. Now things may get even worse. The COVID-19 pandemic is both a medical crisis and an economic shock, and in Georgia, the state’s most vulnerable hospitals could bear a formidable burden.
March 23, 2020 Saporta Report
Okefenokee mining applicant laid off entire staff of 40 at sand mine it’s closing in Fl
David Pendered reports that the entire staff of 40 workers is being laid off in North Florida by a mining company seeking permission to open a mine and excavate sand near the Okefenokee Swamp. Few details are available about the job cuts in Florida or the mine being closed in the rural town of Starke, Fl.
March 23, 2020 Georgia Recorder
Ga. nurses want added autonomy for more treatment capacity in a crisis
Jill Nolin reports that Molly Bachtel was recently treating a patient who had taken a hard hit to the jaw while playing basketball, causing what Bachtel suspected was a fracture. Bachtel, who is a family nurse practitioner in Atlanta, could order an X-Ray but when a radiologist reported that an MRI was needed, she had to refer the injured man on to a doctor.
March 23, 2020 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Kemp faces growing pressure to enact new coronavirus restrictions
Greg Bluestein reports that Gov. Brian Kemp’s refusal so far to use emergency powers to impose restrictions to stem the spread of coronavirus has led to a patchwork of local regulations that public health experts warn could undermine Georgia’s effort to contain the disease. The Republican’s aides say he’s weighing his options and hasn’t ruled out any measures.
