COVID-19 Information and Alerts

General Information and Actions

COVID-19, also known as coronavirus, is a new virus that causes fever, cough and shortness of breath. The virus can cause severe illness including pneumonia in high risk populations such as older adults and people with chronic medical conditions. The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11, 2020.

Newton County is taking steps to try and stop the spread of COVID-19 through the following measures:

Making masks optional after they were mandatory for much of the pandemic.
Followed the Governor’s Shelter at Home Ordinance
Informing the public on COVID-19 best practices
Operated under judicial emergency including prohibition on jury trial proceedings and conducting remote proceedings and in-person proceedings under public health guidelines
Conducting BOC meetings via Zoom and YouTube livestream and placing all meetings on our YouTube Channel.

Isolation and Quarantine Recommendations

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) updated its recommendation for isolation and quarantine period in regards to COVID-19 on Dec. 27.

Given what the CDC has learned about the Omicron variant, it recommends people with COVID-19 should isolate for five (5) days and if they are asymptomatic or their symptoms are resolving (without fever for 24 hours), follow that by five (5) days of wearing a mask when around others to minimize the risk of infecting people they encounter. The change is motivated by science demonstrating that the majority of SARS-CoV-2 transmission occurs early in the course of illness, generally in the 1-2 days prior to onset of symptoms and the 2-3 days after.

Additionally, CDC is updating the recommended quarantine period for anyone in the general public who is exposed to COVID-19. For people who are unvaccinated or are more than six months out from their second mRNA dose (or more than two months after the J&J vaccine) and not yet boosted, CDC now recommends quarantine for 5 days followed by strict mask use for an additional five (5) days. Alternatively, if a five-day quarantine is not feasible, it is imperative that an exposed person wear a well-fitting mask at all times when around others for 10 days after exposure. Individuals who have received their booster shot do not need to quarantine following an exposure, but should wear a mask for 10 days after the exposure. For all those exposed, best practice would also include a test for SARS-CoV-2 at day five after exposure. If symptoms occur, individuals should immediately quarantine until a negative test confirms symptoms are not attributable to COVID-19.

Vaccine Information

The Georgia Department of Public Health is the office responsible for administering COVID-19 vaccine. Vaccine Vaccine supply is very limited. Public health departments are scheduling vaccines by appointment only, as are most other providers. Depending on vaccine supply allocations from the federal government, it may be weeks before additional providers will have vaccine available for quicker and more widespread distribution.