ROSWELL, GA — By executive order, City of Roswell Mayor Lori Henry has announced restrictions limiting establishments that serve food to takeout, drive-thru and delivery only. The executive order will become effective at 11:59 p.m. on March 20, through 11:59 p.m., April 3. The order also closes gyms and fitness centers, movie theaters, live performance venues, bowling alleys, arcades, and private social clubs' food services and indoor gatherings. These measures are consistent with the guidance of public health professionals to slow the spread of coronavirus.

Henry's executive order includes a proclamation of a state of emergency, and while it does not mandate sheltering in place, it necessitates certain actions to ensure that the maximum number of people take steps to distance and/or isolate, while also enabling essential services to continue.

"To protect the public's safety and welfare during the COVID-19 pandemic, I am using my executive authority as Mayor to enact additional measures to regulate communal behavior," Henry said. "These actions are necessary to help manage the infection rate in our community and put us in the best possible position to recover when this event subsides. We will get through this together, but I am calling upon all our residents and businesses to take this situation seriously and to do your part through social distancing and recommended hygiene measures."

In order to achieve these goals, the executive order includes the following provisions and exceptions:

All bars and restaurants, gyms and fitness centers, movie theaters, live performance venues, bowling alleys, arcades, and private social clubs are closed.

Recreation centers, athletic facilities, outdoor gym equipment will be closed.

Playgrounds will be closed.

Exceptions:

Outdoor activity in parks, such as walking, hiking, biking and running, are allowed, providing individuals comply with social distancing requirements set out by the CDC.

GOVERNMENT, ESSENTIAL SERVICES, AND CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE

All critical infrastructure will remain operational and government entities and businesses will continue providing essential services.

OFFICES AND WORKPLACES

For offices and workplaces that remain open, employees should practice good hygiene and, where feasible, work from home in order to achieve optimum isolation from coronavirus. The more that people reduce their public contact, the sooner coronavirus will be contained and the sooner the executive order will expire.

To help support local restaurants and businesses, Henry strongly encourages residents to place take-out, to-go, or drive-thru orders from local restaurants. A long list of Roswell restaurants—even ones that do not usually offer take-out—have added this option.

Follow www.facebook.com/VisitRoswellGeorgia for a daily update of to-go and delivery restaurant options.

For more information about the City of Roswell's response to the coronavirus pandemic, visit www.roswellgov.com/coronavirus.

Other cities have also adopted similar ordinances:

Georgia had its largest one-day increase of coronavirus cases on Friday, when the Georgia Department of Public Health released there have been 420 positive cases across the state, and 13 deaths.

The number of confirmed and presumed positive cases of COVID-19 rose from 197 on Wednesday to 287 cases in 28 counties on Thursday. By Friday, there have been 420 positive cases in the state, with 13 deaths, across 50 counties.



The DPH released the numbers of tests taken across the state, which totaled more than 2,300.

There have been 1,682 tests done in a commercial lab, with 289 coming in positive. The Department of Public Health Lab has done 704 tests, and had 131 positives.

Fulton County has the most cases in the state with 79, followed by Cobb County with 45, Bartow with 40, Dougherty with 38, DeKalb with 35, Gwinnett with 20, Cherokee with 13, Fayette with 10, and Clarke and Clayton with nine.

Globally, more than 255,000 people have been infected and more than 10,400 people have died from the new coronavirus, Johns Hopkins reported Friday. Of that total, more than 14,000 confirmed cases are in the United States. There have been 205 deaths in the U.S. have been tied to the virus outbreak, as of Friday morning.

