Photograph by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
Over the weekend, some restaurants prepared to open while many others vowed to remain shut. Here’s your Monday morning update:
• There are now 23,481 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Georgia. 916 people have died. 4,377 have been hospitalized. 122,604 tests have been conducted. [GA Dept. of Public Health]
• Today’s the first day restaurants can officially begin re-opening for dine-in service, and while some owners are eager to get back to work, others are grappling with the decision, weighing the need for income against safety concerns. Dozens of popular Atlanta restaurants have vowed not to open on Monday. Perhaps the most high-profile restaurant to re-open is Waffle House, which announced it will begin opening some dining rooms today. Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar, Original Hot Dog Factory, Marietta Diner, Rocky Mountain Pizza, and Bantam Pub are among some of the others. [Eater Atlanta 1/11 Alive/Eater Atlanta 2]
• Atlanta-based New York Times reporter Kim Severson interviewed Kyma chef Pano Karatassos, who said that Buckhead Life Restaurant Group (which owns eight Atlanta restaurants including Kyma, Buckhead Diner, Atlanta Fish Market, and Chops) is planing to re-open dining rooms on May 1. Severson notes that many restaurateurs are looking to Asia for guidance not only on how to safely re-open, but also for how to create a comfortable, enjoyable dining experience in the midst of a pandemic. [NYT]
• Curious how Georgia’s plan to ease social distancing measures compares with the other 50 states? WSB-TV compiled a helpful list of each state’s overall stance on extending or ending shelter-in-place orders. [WSB-TV]
• Emory infectious disease expert Dr. Carlos del Rio gave an interview to Fox 5, saying that while the state is seeing “a flattening” in hospital admissions, there is not yet a decline in COVID-19 cases. However, “I think we’re going to see that decline, and I think we’re going to see it because the transmission is slowing down,” del Rio said. He cautioned that the outbreak is far from over for Georgia, comparing hitting the peak in cases to reaching the peak of Mt. Everest—climbing back down is still dangerous. Ultimately, he advised as businesses begin to re-open, “What we need to emphasize to people, is, continue practicing social distancing. Continue being careful about what you want to do. You don’t want to get infected. And, you don’t want to bring this back to your family.” [Fox 5]
• The Georgia Poison Center has reported an increase in calls regarding the misuse of cleaning products, but it’s less citizens trying to drink or inject themselves with bleach and more that they’re mixing cleaning chemicals, which can have toxic results. (Rule of thumb: Don’t mix anything with bleach.) There’s also been an uptick in children ingesting substances, likely because children are at home more. In general, read and follow the instructions on the label of your cleaning products, don’t mix products, and please, do not ingest them. [Georgia Health News]
• As Georgia businesses begin to re-open, many are pondering how to provide personal services from a safe social distance. We created a helpful guide with illustrator Tommy Siegel.
