COVINGTON, Ga. — City leaders won’t institute any new face covering mandates because the mask resolution passed in December 2020 is still in place.

Since the number of new COVID-19 cases in Newton County exceeds 100 per 100,000 over a 14-day period, Covington Mayor Steve Horton reminded the public that face coverings would again be required on city properties, per the resolution.

“[The resolution] didn’t go away when we dropped below 100 per 100,000,” Horton said during a Covington City Council meeting held Monday.

Horton encouraged the public to continue wearing face coverings when necessary and to consider getting vaccinated. He also said it was “very likely” the city council would hold future meetings via teleconference.

As of Wednesday, Aug. 18, the Georgia Department of Public Health reported there have been 522 confirmed COVID cases per 100,000 in Newton County within the last two weeks — more than eight times the amount of cases just over a month ago.  The mayor said there were only 59 cases per 100,000 in Newton County five weeks ago.

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 spike in cases has been attributed to a surge in the Delta variant of COVID-19, which is a strain of the novel virus that CDC officials say is two times more contagious than previous variants.

In Georgia, there have been more than 60,244 COVID-19 cases confirmed within the last 14 days.

Data from the CDC suggests the Delta variant could cause more severe illness than previous strains in unvaccinated persons, which is why there’s been a big push for the public to get jabbed.

As of Monday, only 48% of Georgians had received at least one dose of a vaccine, compared to the national average of 59.7%. About 41% of those Georgians were fully vaccinated, and only 50.7% of all Americans.

Newton County was especially lagging behind in vaccinations, as of Wednesday, when only 34% of residents were fully vaccinated. Roughly 40% of the county has received at least one dose.

The majority of patients hospitalized with the virus are said to be unvaccinated, but Horton said he knows that doesn’t mean vaccinated people aren’t at risk. He shared that he had two family members that were fully vaccinated who contracted the virus and were hospitalized. One of those family members died Monday, he said.

“You can get it whether you have a vaccination or not,” Horton said, “but thank goodness a vaccination does help, and I’m grateful for having it. Dr. Arona said she believes that in order to overcome the pandemic, the answer is more people get vaccinated. I urge folks to please consider getting vaccinated.” 

As result of the increase in COVID-19 cases, hospitals across the state are being pushed to their limits, so much so that Gov. Brian Kemp announced Monday that the Department of Community Health would commit $125 million in addition to $500 million the state is already spending to increase state-supported hospital staffs. A Capitol Beat News report stated the plan was to increase the staffs of 68 different hospitals from 1,300 to 2,800, with 170 of the new staff members being sent to rural locations.

As of Wednesday, the GDPH records nearly 70,000 people have been hospitalized with COVID-19, while 19,087 people have died of the virus.

Despite the surge in cases, Kemp says he has every intention of keeping businesses’ doors open.

“We will not shut businesses down,” the governor stated. “We will not prevent families from earning a paycheck.”

Capitol Beat News contributed to this report.