New research model predicts second COVID-19 wave in Georgia A computer model predicts numbers in Georgia will rise exponentially in 2 months if the state lifts most restrictions on public interactions. Share Shares Copy Link Copy

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COLLEGE FOOTBALL AT SAVANNAH STATE IN THE FALL. AND THAT'S A LOOK AT SPORTS. STICK AROUND. IT'S 6 O'CLOCK ON YOUR TUESDAY MORNING. LET'S GET STRAIGHT TO YOUR CORONAVIRUS HEADLINES. GEORGIA NOW HAS MORE THAN 24- THOUSAND CORONAVIRUS CASES... SOUTH CAROLOINA... MORE THAN FIVE THOUSAND... NEARLY A THOUSAND GEORGIANS... AND 177 SOUTH CAROLINIANS HAVE DIED FROM THE VIRUS. LOCALLY... CHATHAM COUNTY - RIGHT NOW - HAS 208 CASES... BEAUFORT COUNTY... 254.... GEORGIA GOVERNOR BRIAN KEMPS CONSIDERING WHETHER TO EXTEND HIS SHELTER AND PLACE ORDER... THE CURRENT ORDER ENDS THURSDAY. HE'S ALREADY ALLOWED SEVERAL BUSINESSES TO RE- OPEN. SOUTH CAROLINA IS NOW UNDER A NEW STATE OF EMERGENCY THIS MORNING... GOVERNOR HENRY MCMASTER ISSUED IT YESTERDAY... WHEN HIS PREVIOUS DECLARATION EXPIRED. MCMASTER WANTS SOUTH CAROLINA'S ECONOMY BUSTLING AGAIN BY JUNE. WE'LL DIVE DEEPER INTO YOUR CORONAVIRUS STORIES IN JUST A MOMENT, BUT FIRST... LET'S GET THAT CERTIFIED MOST ACCURATE FORECAST WITH METEROLOGIST JONATHAN MYERS. NOW, HERE'S YOUR STORM TRACKER RADAR... TODAY SUNNY, WITH A HIGH NEAR 82. LIGHT AND VARIABLE WIND BECOMING SOUTH 6 TO 11 MPH IN THE MORNING. TUESDAY NIGHT MOSTLY CLEAR, WITH A LOW AROUND 59. SOUTH WIND 7 TO 9 MPH. WEDNESDAY MOSTLY SUNNY, WITH A HIGH NEAR 84. BREEZY, WITH A SOUTH WIND 7 TO 12 MPH INCREASING TO 15 TO 20 MPH IN THE AFTERNOON. WINDS COULD GUST AS HIGH AS 30 MPH NOW, HERE'S YOUR STORM TRACKER RADAR... TODAY SUNNY, WITH A HIGH NEAR 82. LIGHT AND VARIABLE WIND BECOMING SOUTH 6 TO 11 MPH IN THE MORNING. TUESDAY NIGHT MOSTLY CLEAR, WITH A LOW AROUND 59. SOUTH WIND 7 TO 9 MPH. WEDNESDAY MOSTLY SUNNY, WITH A HIGH NEAR 84. BREEZY, WITH A SOUTH WIND 7 TO 12 MPH INCREASING TO 15 TO 20 MPH IN THE AFTERNOON. WINDS COULD GUST AS HIGH AS 30 MPH SAVANNAH MAYOR VAN JOHNSON WORRIES PEOPLE IN SAVANNAH MAY NOT GET THE FEDERAL HELP THEY NEED TO RECOVER FROM THIS PANDEMIC... HE BLAMES THE WAY THE FEDERAL BAIL-OUT PROGRAM IS SET UP RIGHT NOW... W-J-C-L'S EMMA HAMILTON JOINS US LIVE WITH MORE ABOUT THE MAYOR'S CONCERNS... CONCERNS... EMMA... CHRIS, THAT CORONAVIRUS RELIEF FUND DIVIDES ONE HUNDRED AND 50 BILLION DOLLARS ACROSS LOCAL GOVERNMENTS WITH POPULATIONS OVER FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND. THE PURPOSE OF THAT MONEY IS TO EXPAND UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE ... LOANS FOR BUSINESSES AND THE STIMULUS CHECKS GOING TO AMERICANS. RIGHT NOW BECAUSE OF THE WAY FEDERAL AID IS STRUCTURED AND DIVIDED ... MANY CITIES WILL BE MISSING OUT ON DIRECT PAYMENTS FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT .. INCLUDING SAVANNAH. ESSENTIALLY THIS MEANS LESS HELP COULD COME TO THE COMMUNITIES THAT NEED IT MOST. "WHILE WE HAVE A HEALTHY BUDGET,AND HAVE MADE THE NECESSARY ADJUSTMENTS, THERE IS NO DENYING THE CITY IS LOSING REVENUE BECAUSE OF COVID-19. RIGHT NOW, ONLY CITIES WITH POPULATIONS OF AT LEAST 500,000 QUALIFY FOR FUNDING UNDER TEH CORONAVIRUS RELIEF FUND IN THE RECENTLY PASSED CARES ACT. THE PROBLEM IS, THERE ARE ONLY 36 CITIES IN THE UNITED STATES THAT MEET THAT THRESHOLD. THERE IS NO CITY IN GEORGIA OR SOUTH CAROLINA THAT MEETS THAT THRESHOLD. THAT MEANS THE MONEY WOULD GO TO THE STATE AND THEN SHARED WITH CITIES. WE KNOW WHAT WE NEED, AND WE NEED THOSE FUNDS TO COME TO US DIRECT AND NONSTOP FROM WASHINGTON, D.C. TO SAVANNAH." MAYOR JOHNSON SAYS - - EVEN ATLANTA FALLS SHORT OF 500- THOUSAND PEOPLE WHEN YOU STRIP AWAY ALL THE CITIES THAT CIRCLE IT TO MAKE UP THE METRO- AREA... HE SAYS THAT MEANS ATLANTA WON'T EVEN QUALIFY FOR FEDERAL HELP. LATER THIS MORNING WE WILL HEAR MORE FROM MAYOR JOHNSON AT HIS WEEKLY PRESS BRIEFING AND WE WILL BRING YOU THE LATEST TONIGHT STARTING AT FIVE AND THROUGHOUT THE DAY ON OUR WEBSITE AT WJCL DOT COM. REPORTING IN SAV ... EMMA HAMILTON, WJCL 22 NEWS. THE CHATHAM COUNTY COMMISSION ALSO PLANS TO GIVE AN UPDATE ON HOW THE COUNTY'S COPING WITH THE CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK... THAT UPDATE'S AT NINE-30 THIS MORNING... LEADERS FROM THE CHATHAM EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT - - AND COASTAL HEALTH DISTRICT - WILL TAKE PART IN THAT UPDATE... YOU CAN WATCH THAT MEETING ON CHATHAM COUNTY'S WEBSITE - - OR ITS FACEBOOK PAGE. IT MAY NOW BE EASIER FOR PEOPLE SHOWING SYMPTOMS OF CORONAVIRUS TO GET TESTED IN COASTAL GEORGIA... W-J-C-L'S STEPHEN MOODY EXPLAINS. THERE ARE ONLY TWO DRIVE THRU SITES IN THE COASTAL GEORGIA AREA, BUT THEY'VE DONE A GOOD ENOUGH JOB OF COLLECTING THOSE SAMPLES AND TESTING PEOPLE WHO NEED IT. TAMMI BROWN ÷ CHATHAM COUNTY NURSE MANAGER "WE HAVE COLLECTED OVER 1,000 SPECIMENS BETWEEN CHATHAM COUNTY AND GLYNN COUNTY. WE HAVE COLLECTED AS MANY AS 121 SPECIMENS IN ONE DAY AT THIS SITE". THE GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND THE COASTAL HEALTH DISTRICT ARE URGING PEOPLE THAT SHOW ANY SYMPTOMS OF THE VIRUS TO GET TESTED... SO LONG AS YOU HAVE A REFERRAL FROM YOUR DOCTOR OR HEALTH DEPARTMENT. THEY'RE ALSO URGING ANYONE IN THE CRITICAL WORKFORCE WHO MAY NOT HAVE SYMPTOMS TO GET TESTED AS WELL. AS TESTS INCREASE, SO HAS THE SUPPLY OF PPE. MAKING IT EASIER FOR THESE TESTS TO BE CONDUCTED SAFELY. TAMMI BROWN ÷ CHATHAM COUNTY NURSE MANAGER "RIGHT NOW, WE HAVE A GOOD SUPPLY OF TEST KITS AND PPE. WE GET SUPPLIES FROM THE STATE. WE CONTINUE TO ORDER FROM OUR REGULAR SUPPLIERS. SO RIGHT NOW, I DON'T SEE ANY ENDING IN SIGHT, BUT WE'RE PRETTY WELL STOCKED RIGHT NOW". WITH MORE TESTING AVAILABLE, RESTRICTIONS ARE STARTING TO EASE ACROSS THE STATE. BUT OFFICIALS SAY, THIS IS NOT A TIME TO LET YOUR GUARD DOWN. TAMMI BROWN ÷ CHATHAM COUNTY NURSE MANAGER "WE ARE STILL IN THE MIDST OF A PANDEMIC, SO WE DON'T WANT PEOPLE TO GET COMPLACENT. WE WANT PEOPLE TO STILL BE VIGILANT, STILL DO SOCIAL DISTANCING, STILL WEAR A MASK IF YOU'RE OUT IN PUBLIC. WE DON'T WANT PEOPLE TO LOSE SIGHT OF THAT FACT EVEN THOUGH WE ARE SLOWLY REOPENING". AND IF EVEN TESTS ARE NEGATIVE, THIS DATA WILL NOT ONLY HELP DOCTORS AND NURSES, BUT THEY COULD ALSO HELP OUR CITY LEADERS AS WELL. TAMMI BROWN ÷ CHATHAM COUNTY NURSE MANAGER "THIS IS GOING TO GIVE US SOME GOOD DATA. THIS IS GOING TO HELP US MITIGATE COMMUNITY STRATEGIES IF WE NEED TOO. SO, WE'RE REALLY ENCOURAGING PEOPLE THAT IF THEY HAVE SYMPTOMS, OR IF THEY'RE IN THAT PRIORITY GROUP TO CALL THE CALL CENTER, AND WE'LL MAKE AN APPOINTMENT TO COME IN AND GET TESTED". THOSE TESTS ARE FREE... AND YOU SHOULD GET RESULTS WITHIN A COUPLE OF DAYS. SEVERAL RESTAURANTS GEORGIA ARE ONCE AGAIN OFFERING SIT- DOWN - - DINE IN - - SERVICE... GOVERNOR BRIAN KEMP ALLOWED THEM TO ALLOW CUSTOMERS INSIDE STARTING YESTERDAY... BUT THOSE RESTARUANTS MUST FOLLOW STRICT GUIDELINES... SEVERAL LOCAL RESTAURANTS SAY THEY'RE TAKING NO CHANCES WITH THEIR CUSTOMERS - - OR EMPLOYEE'S - - HEALTH. <> THOSE RESTAURANT GUIDELINES INCLUDE...ONLY SERVING TEN PEOPLE - - FOR EVERY FIVE- HUNDRED SQUARE FEET OF OF THE DINING ROOM... AND WORKERS MUST WEAR MASKS... ALSO... NO GROUP CAN BE LARGER THAN SIX PEOPLE... AND CUSTOMERS CANNOT SERVE THEMSELVES AT BUFFETS... HILTON HEAD ISLAND LEADERS COULD DECIDE - TODAY - WHEN TO REOPEN BEACHES AND PARKS... WJCL'S DANIEL ROBINSON - JOINS US WITH WHAT ELSE TOWN LEADERS WILL TALK ABOUT AT THEIR MEETING TODAY... DANIEL... CHRIS - TODAY'S MEETING COMES AFTER TOWN COUNCIL RECOMMENDED - TO KEEP PUBLIC BEACH ACCESS CLOSED UNTIL MAY 1ST. NOW - THEY PLAN TO DISCUSSES THE POSSIBILITY OF REOPENING ON FRIDAY. ACCORDING TO TOWN DOCUMENTS - áIFá THE TOWN DECIDED TO BEGIN REOPENING ACCESS POINTS - IT IS RECOMMENDING TO START WITH THE PARKING LOTS AT ALL 7 OF THE ISLAND'S BEACHES. THE FIRST ROUND OF OPENINGS WOULD ALLOW PEOPLE ON THE BEACH FROM 8;30 AM TO 6:00 PM. THE TOWN SAID - THE PURPOSE OF RESTORING ACCESS WOULD BE TO USE THE BEACH FOR RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES -- SUCH AS RUNNING, WALKING, DOG - WALKING - ALONG WITH BIKING, FISHING AND SURFING. THE TOWN SAID - PEOPLE WOULD NOT BE ALLOWED - SUNBATHE - THAT INCLUDES - NOT BEING ABLE TO LAY OUT TOWELS, CHAIRS - OR SET UP TENTS. YOU WOULD HAVE TO REMAIN MOVING WHILE ON THE BEACH - ACCORDING TO DOCUMENTS. THE TOWN IS ALSO CONSIDERING - RECOMMENDING THAT BATHROOMS, PLAYGROUNDS AND PICNIC SHELTERS AT AREA BEACHES AND PARKS - REMAIN CLOSED. THE TOWN DECIDED TO KEEP ITS BEACHES AND PARKS CLOSED - AFTER GOVERNOR HENRY MCMASTER LEFT THE DECISION ON WHEN TO RE- OPEN THEM - IN THE HANDS OF LOCAL LEADERS. THE TOWN IS LAYING OUT A PLAN TO GET ALL - BEACHES AND PARKS OPENED WITH-IN A 30 DAY PERIOD. ACCORDING TO DOCUMENTS - AND - AGAIN THIS MORNING - TOWN PARKS AND BEACHES - DO STILL SAVANNAH - CHATAHM COUNTY SCHOOL LEADERS ARE CHANGING HOW THEY HAND OUT MEALS TO STUDENTS... WHILE SHOOLS ARE CLOSED... STARTING TODAY... THEY'LL GIVE A WEEK'S WORTH BREAKFAST AND LUNCH MEALS ... ONCE A WEEK... SCHOOL LEADERS SAY THIS NEW PLAN WILL BETTER PROTECT WORKERS FROM GETTING CORONAVIRUS. AFTER NOT BEING IN SESSION BECAUSE OF THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC, MEMBERS OF CONGRESS WILL BE BACK AT WORK IN PERSON NEXT WEEK. BOTH THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND TH

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