Georgia Trend Daily – March 26, 2020
March 26, 2020 Georgia.gov
Gov. Kemp Calls on Georgia Businesses to Aid with Critical Health Care Needs
Staff reports that Governor Brian P. Kemp Wednesday called on all Georgia businesses who are able to help the state provide, produce, distribute, or store critical health care items needed to fight the spread of COVID-19. “As our state’s hardworking healthcare workers and first responders stand on the front lines of the battle against COVID-19, it is our job to come together as Georgians and arm them with the necessary resources to keep them safe and effective,” said Governor Kemp.
March 26, 2020 Georgia Trend – Exclusive!
Sustainable Georgia Roundup
Mary Ann DeMuth reports that school bus manufacturer Blue Bird Corp., based in Fort Valley,
has more than 100 electric buses on order from school districts throughout the nation. The company’s electric buses have already hit the pavement in California, North Dakota and Washington, and those on order will transport more students in Colorado, New Jersey, New York and Quebec this year.
March 26, 2020 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia expecting historic surge in jobless claims
Michael E. Kanell reports that Georgia officials are expected Thursday to announce a historic surge in unemployment claims, with massive numbers of workers laid off from restaurants, stores and other businesses as the coronavirus crisis deepens.
March 26, 2020 Atlanta Business Chronicle
Development in Atlanta: “We have adapted”
Douglas Sams reports that before dawn, a crew of about a dozen shows up to man the excavator, the backhoe and the pile boring equipment on the site of a new-22 story luxury condo tower in south Buckhead. It broke ground in January.
March 26, 2020 Savannah Morning News
Savannah occupancy rates at historic lows, hospitality industry facing mass layoffs amid COVID-19 pandemic
Katie Nussbaum reports that Savannah-area hotel occupancy rates have hit staggering lows as travelers cancel and postpone trips in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to data released this week by the Tourism Leadership Council, projected market occupancy for Friday, Saturday and Sunday (March 27-29) is expected to average 6.25%.
March 26, 2020 Saporta Report
MARTA cuts service, seeks share in federal aid
Maggie Lee reports that Metro Atlanta’s transit systems are trimming service and MARTA is asking for aid from the federal government as the new coronavirus upends the economy. Beginning Monday, March 30, MARTA will reduce bus service by approximately 30 percent.
March 26, 2020 Athens Banner-Herald
Classic Center Grand Hall to become factory for devices to fight coronavirus
Lee Shearer reports that the Classic Center’s Grand Hall will become a factory to build special disinfectant sprayers used to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Athens company ByoPlanet International has agreed to hire 40 Classic Center employees, who are out of work after the center suffered a wave of event cancellations as federal, state and local governments clamped down on travel and business activities to slow the spread of the highly contagious virus.
March 26, 2020 Albany Herald
Phoebe looks to increase beds for treating COVID-19 patients in Albany
Alan Mauldin reports that with three intensive care units filled with critically ill COVID-19 patients, Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital will open part of the former Palmyra Medical Center facility to provide additional beds and space. As of Wednesday afternoon, there had been 12 deaths at Phoebe of patients who tested positive for the coronavirus, six of whom were Dougherty County residents and an equal number from other counties among patients treated at Phoebe, Dougherty County Coroner Michael Fowler announced during a Wednesday afternoon news conference.
March 26, 2020 Georgia Recorder
Georgia cities aim to slow COVID-19 with more restrictions than state
Stanley Dunlap reports that Savannah Mayor Van Johnson issued a shelter-in-place directive Tuesday banning people from going out in public except for essential services while also urging the governor to order more restrictions than he did Monday to stem the spread of COVID-19. Savannah, which imposed an initial round of COVID-19 regulations Saturday, is following the Georgia Municipal Association’s recommendations that local governments declare a public emergency so that cities are consistent in their approach to the rapidly spreading virus.
March 26, 2020 The Center Square
House Democrats in Georgia make second call for Kemp to instill shelter-in-place order
Nyamekye Daniel reports that Georgia House Democrats on Wednesday increased pressure on Gov. Brian Kemp to implement a shelter-in-place order in the state. Members of the House Democratic Caucus sent a letter to Kemp urging him to institute the order to stop the spread of COVID-19.
March 26, 2020 Capitol Beat News
Georgia senators want feds to boost emphasis on academic medical centers in COVID-19 fight
Dave Williams reports that Georgia’s two U.S. senators are asking the Trump administration to steer more of the available COVID-19 testing resources to Georgia’s academic medical centers. In a letter to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, Republicans David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler explain that the medical schools at Augusta University and Emory University are returning test results faster than Georgia’s commercial labs.
March 26, 2020 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Democrats ready questions for Kemp ahead of Thursday’s coronavirus town hall
Greg Bluestein reports that frustrated with Gov. Brian Kemp’s response to Georgia’s growing coronavirus crisis, state Democrats are gathering sharp questions from voters ahead of a Thursday town hall featuring the Republican and some of his top deputies.
