COVINGTON, Ga. — Covington City Hall will be closed to the public indefinitely, officials announced Wednesday.
The reason is due to the recent spike in COVID-19 cases in and around the county, which officials said has impacted the city’s staff.
“Thank you for your patience during this temporary adjustment as we take into consideration the safety of our citizens and our team,” officials stated.
Covington Human Resources and Safety Risk Director Paul G. Dailey Jr. said approximately 15-20% of the city's employees had been affected as of Wednesday, either by a positive test result or exposure to someone who had tested positive. However, Dailey said, the data was "changing by the hour."
According to the Georgia Department of Public Health, there have been a staggering 1,225 new COVID-19 cases confirmed in Newton County within the last two weeks, as of Tuesday’s daily status report. Cases per capita (per 100,000) stood at 1,090, which was the fifth highest in the state of Georgia.
For those needing to make a utility payment to the city of Covington, there are various options to do so:
• Call 1-844-462-1018 to pay over the phone.
• Use the drive-thru. Both lanes of the drive-thru will be open during normal business hours of 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday. There is also an after hours drop box in the drive-thru area.
• Set up an appointment by calling 770-385-2000.
Since the number of new COVID-19 cases in Newton County exceeds 100 per 100,000 over a 14-day period, face coverings will again be required on city properties, per a mask resolution passed in December 2020.
Mayor Steve Horton issued a reminder about the resolution to residents in August when there were more than 500 confirmed COVID cases per 100,000 in Newton County.
“[The resolution] didn’t go away when we dropped below 100 per 100,000,” Horton said during a Covington City Council at the time.
The following guidelines are outlined in the resolution:
• Individuals are required to wear a face covering on city properties.
• Face coverings aren't mandated on private property, but Council is encouraging businesses to institute the mandatory mask resolution.
• Masks are not required to be medical grade so long as they cover the nose and mouth. Bandanas, scarves and other similar fabrics are allowed.
• Businesses within city limits may indicated that they require masks on their property by posting a notice at each entrance accessible to the public.
• Masks are not required while eating or drinking or if socially distanced at least six feet apart.
• The Covington Police Department will enforce the ordinance on all public property and any private property that chooses to require masks. Any individual who fails to be in compliance with this order is subject to a $50 fine.
The summer spike was attributed to the Delta variant. The resurgence in COVID cases now are widely being attributed to the Omicron variant.
