A first for our community, leaders from Floyd Medical Center, Redmond Regional Medical Center, Harbin Clinic, Cartersville Medical Center, AdventHealth Gordon and public health unify with key community message on COVID-19 impact to our community and endorse decision to cancel events and large gatherings, encourage use of social distancing.

From Northwest Georgia District Public Health: Northwest Georgia medical and public health leaders are working closely and collaboratively to aggressively respond to the COVID-19 impact in our communities. In reviewing the increased number and nature of COVID-19 cases in Bartow, Floyd, Gordon, and Polk county residents, we believe there is now clear indication of community spread. As leaders of local health and hospital systems across Northwest Georgia, we unanimously endorse the difficult yet necessary decision to cancel events and large gatherings and encourage the use of social distancing to mitigate spread of the virus and best protect our communities.

Is there ‘magic’ number of attendees to be considered a ‘large’ gathering? Logan Boss with NWGA Public Health says “There is no magic number for a safe event, but canceling or postponing large gathering is one way to promote social distancing required to stem the spread of coronavirus. Any time groups come together, individuals should keep at least six feet apart, wash their hands frequently, and replace their handshake with a smile or wave. It’s harder to implement these social distancing measures at large events.”