Photograph by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
During the holiday weekend, Georgians took to the great outdoors. Here’s your Tuesday morning update:
• As of publication time, a total of 43,586 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in Georgia. 1,853 people have died. 514,945 tests (virus and antibody) have been conducted. A total of 7,511 of those tested were hospitalized at the time. [GA Dept. of Public Health]
• During Memorial Day weekend, many Georgians took to the lakes, according to the AJC, who quoted the manager of Lake Allatoona’s Little River Marina as saying “he had never seen so many families head to the lake for the holiday.” Beaches and parks also saw a lot of visitors, while malls were still less crowded than normal, the AJC reports. Some ceremonies to honor veterans were also still held on Monday; at Marietta National Cemetery, where the annual remembrance event was officially canceled, a small group gathered to lay a wreath and pay respects. Cemetery director James Mitchum was in attendance and told the AJC it was a “powerful” experience. Dunwoody and Woodstock held virtual Memorial Day ceremonies. [AJC/Marietta Daily Journal/WSB-TV]
• A 17-year-old has become the state’s youngest COVID-19 victim. The Georgia Department of Public Health confirmed the death of the Fulton County teenager, who had an underlying condition, on Sunday. Way back in early April, it was reported that an 11-year-old was Georgia’s youngest COVID-19 victim, but that was later reported as an error. [WSB-TV/Fox 5]
• The TSA has released new guidelines in anticipation of summer travel, among them: travelers will no longer give boarding passes to the TSA agent but will instead scan the passes themselves and hold them up for the TSA agent to visually check. Passengers are also asked to put any carry-on foods into a clear plastic bag and put the bag directly on the bin. This is because, as anyone who has traveled with snacks well knows, food often triggers a bag check. Fewer bag checks means fewer TSA agents touching your stuff. For the same reason, they’re also asking travelers to be extra cautious of having any prohibited items in carry-on luggage (like a full water bottle). Travelers are allowed to have one container with up to 12 ounces of hand sanitizer, but it must be put in the tray directly. Read the full list of guidelines here. [TSA]
• Several Old Fourth Ward businesses have agreed to a tiered pledge that incorporates guidelines from both Governor Brian Kemp’s executive orders and Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms’s reopening plan for Atlanta. Eater Atlanta broke down what this means for the restaurants who have signed on, including many of the Edgewood Avenue bars. Some of the guidelines include keeping music low so that patrons and employees can hear each other better through masks and keeping doors and windows open as much as possible. [O4W Business Association/Eater Atlanta]
