Web Alert

COVID-19 updates

Read the full details of the County’s COVID-19 response here. Highlights are listed below.

Masks required in County facilities
In the face of a surging number of cases of COVID-19, Gwinnett County is requiring face masks or face coverings for all visitors and employees while inside County buildings and facilities.

Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners Chairwoman Nicole Hendrickson signed the executive order, which cites face mask recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to reduce the spread of the disease, and that the Supreme Court has ruled a community has the right to protect its citizens from epidemics. The order allows exceptions for bona fide medical or religious reasons and for people who cannot don or remove masks by themselves. The order requires a face mask covering the mouth and nose inside County facilities. People who do not comply may be denied entry or may be asked to leave.

Public Health State of Emergency extended through April 30
On Wednesday, March 31, Governor Kemp extended the Public Health State of Emergency through April 30, 2021. The Public Health State of Emergency allows for enhanced coordination across government and the private sector for supply procurement, comprehensive testing and healthcare capacity.

In addition, Governor Kemp issued additional guidance on empowering a healthy Georgia on March 31. Read the latest executive order (03.31.21.02 and 03.31.21.03).

Georgians are still urged to practice social distancing. All residents and visitors are strongly encouraged to wear face coverings as practicable when outside their homes, except when eating, drinking, or exercising outdoors. Residents and visitors should also practice sanitation in accordance with CDC guidelines.

The state has provided guidance to help businesses, like restaurants, bars, gyms, movie theaters, food establishments, and more understand restrictions and requirements for operating during this time.

The Governor’s Office and the Georgia Department of Health are partnering to promote simple but critical measures that will keep Georgians safe from COVID-19. Wear a face covering, wash your hands, regularly sanitize surfaces, and stay six feet away from others. For more information about how to protect yourself from COVID-19 and what to do if you are sick, please visit Coronavirus.gov.

Courts and Trials
On Tuesday, March 9, Chief Justice Harold D. Melton of the Supreme Court of Georgia extended the statewide judicial emergency declaration through April 8, 2021.

With the order, Judge Melton lifted the suspension of jury trials in Georgia, stating that trial courts may resume jury trials “if that can be done safely and in accordance with a final jury trial plan developed in collaboration with the local committee of judicial system participants and incorporated into the court’s written operating guidelines for in-person proceedings.”

As with previous orders, this order continues to encourage all courts to use technology to conduct remote judicial proceedings as a safer alternative to in-person proceedings where practicable and lawful.

As a result of this extension, the March 30 order signed by Chief Judge George Hutchinson III of the Gwinnett County Superior Court is also extended through April 8.