Thursday, March 04, 2021

Northeast Health District Adds 163 New COVID-19 Cases, Six Deaths From Disease; Rolling Averages Decline

***Positivity Rates And Number Of Tests Drop In Oconee, Clarke***

With the addition of 163 new COVID-19 cases in the Northeast Health District on Thursday, the seven-day rolling average of added cases fell slightly, halting an eight-day increase in the average.

The District added six deaths, and the seven-day rolling average of added deaths also dropped on Thursday.

For the second day in a row, one of the added confirmed deaths in the Department of Public Health Daily Status Report was in Clarke County: a 62-year-old female without a chronic condition.

Attorney For Oconee County Schools Rejects Request From UGA Law School Clinic For Live Streaming Of School Board Meetings

***Says School Board Not Violating Open Meetings Act***

The attorney for Oconee County Schools has rejected the request made by representatives of the University of Georgia School of Law First Amendment Clinic that it live stream Board of Education meetings and provide access to those meetings for individuals who wish to attend virtually.

Phillip L. Hartley, a Gainesville attorney, said that the Georgia Open Meetings Act does not require “virtual transmission” of a “live meeting” unless the Board itself is meeting virtually under emergency conditions, as it did from April through July 6 of last year.