Responses to the Census are better in some areas of the County than others. If you haven't received and invitation to take the Census, you can login and fill out the questionaire using your smartphone. Go To www.my2020census.gov and put in your mailing address to start the questionaire. Response rates from around the County are shown below:
TRACT 9505- 41.90%- SOUTH WAYNESBORO/ALEXANDER/MUNNERLYN
BURKE COUNTY COVID-19 EMERGENCY ORDINANCE
AN EMERGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE BURKE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS UNDER SECTION 18-2 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF BURKE COUNTY TO PROVIDE FOR THE REGULATIONS WITHIN BURKE COUNTY, GEORGIA DURING THE PUBLIC EMERGENCY OF THE NOVEL CORONAVIRUS DISEASE GLOBAL PANDEMIC; TO PROVIDE FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE; AND OTHER PURPOSES.
WHEREAS, in the judgment of the governing authority, there exist emergency circumstances located in the entire boundaries of Burke County requiring extraordinary and immediate corrective actions for the protection of the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of Burke County;
WHEREAS, the world has experienced a deep humanitarian crisis due to COVID-19;
WHEREAS, as of March 11, 2020, COVID-19 is officially a global pandemic according to the World Health Organization (WHO);
WHEREAS, on March 13, 2020, President Donald Trump declared a national emergency in response to the outbreak of COVID-19;
WHEREAS, Governor Brian Kemp has declared a public health emergency in the State of Georgia as of March 14, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic;
WHEREAS, O.C.G.A. § 38-3-27 through O.C.G.A § 38-3-28 authorizes the governing authority to provide emergency management within the Burke County;
WHEREAS, the number of confirmed cases and deaths from COVID-19 is escalating rapidly, internationally, nationally, and locally; and
WHEREAS, on March 16, 2020, the CDC advised that during the next fifteen (15) days, all events in the United States of ten (10) or more people should be cancelled or held virtually; and
WHEREAS, the current number of COVID-19 cases in Georgia is 3817 with 108 deaths and those numbers are increasing daily; and
WHEREAS, medical professionals have advised that if COVID-19 continues to spread in Georgia at a rate comparable to that rate of spread in other affected areas, it may greatly strain the resources and capabilities of county and municipal government, including public health agencies, that provide essential services for containing and mitigating the spread of contagious diseases, such as COVID-19, and the situation may become too large in scope to be handled in its entirety by the normal county and municipal operating services in some parts of the State, and this situation may spread to other parts of this State; and
WHEREAS, the Burke County Board of Commissioners (“Board”) finds the current spread of COVID-19 presents a public emergency affecting life, health, property or public peace; and
WHEREAS, it has been evidenced that some individuals within Burke County continue to congregate in large numbers in enclosed spaces where social distancing cannot be effectuated; and
WHEREAS, the Burke County Code of Ordinances provides the Chairperson with the authority to take actions deemed necessary to deal with such an emergency for the protection of the safety, health, and well-being of the citizens of the County;
IT IS HEREBY ORDAINED BY THE GOVERNING AUTHORITY OF THE BURKE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS:
(a) That there exists an actual or threatened occurrence of a disaster or emergency, which may result in the large-scale loss of life, injury, property damage or destruction or in the major disruption of routine community affairs, business or governmental operations in Burke County, Georgia. This declaration is intentionally adopted to allow the Chairperson the authority contained in Section 18-2 of the Code of Ordinances of Burke County.
(b) That, all public or private Community Gatherings of more than ten (10) people anywhere within Burke County, Georgia are prohibited for the duration of the declared emergency. A “Community Gathering” is defined as any indoor or outdoor event or convening, subject to the exceptions below, that brings together or is likely to bring together ten (10) or more persons at the same time in a single room or other single confined or enclosed space, such as an auditorium, stadium (indoor or outdoor), tent arena or event center, music venue, meeting hall, conference center, large cafeteria, or any other confined indoor and outdoor area or space. A Community Gathering does not include the following or similar uses, so long as persons attending the Community Gathering are generally not within six (6) feet of each other for extended periods: (1) spaces where persons may be in transit or waiting for transit such as airports, bus stations, or terminals; (2) office or manufacturing space, child-care facilities, residential buildings or any type of temporary sheltering or housing; (3) grocery stores, convenience stores/gasoline filling stations or pharmacies; (4) hospital or medical facilities; and (5) meetings of the Board of Commissioners.
(c) Notwithstanding the previous paragraph, the following business-use categories will be regulated as follows: (1) restaurants open to the public shall close except to provide take out, drive-through, or curbside service to include alcoholic beverages in sealed containers which they are otherwise licensed to dispense; (2) all business locations within on-premises consumption of alcoholic beverage licenses which are not also restaurants shall be closed for business; (3) all establishments providing body care services which require close physical contact between the provider and client such as barbering, hair design, cosmetology, esthetics, massage therapy (except for medically licensed physical therapy), tattooing or nail care shall be closed for business; (4) all indoor recreation facilities, to include gyms, health studios, indoor amusement facilities, bowling alleys, pool halls and theatres shall be closed for business; and (5) all other retail sales establishment (not including grocery stores, convenience stores/gasoline filling stations or pharmacies addressed above) will be permitted to remain open subject to the following restrictions: businesses having less than 30,000 square feet of retail space shall have no more than ten (10) customers on their premises at any one time, and businesses with more than 30,000 square feet of retail space shall have no more than fifty (50) customers on their premises at any one time; and customers shall generally not be within six (6) feet of each other for extended periods; and (6) funerals shall be conducted only as private graveside services with ten (10) or less persons in attendance (not including funeral home staff).
(d) Cafeterias in hospitals, nursing homes, or similar facilities shall not be subject to these restrictions any may continue normal operations.
(e) Pursuant to Section 18-40 of the Burke County Code of Ordinances, a curfew is implemented for the duration of this Emergency Ordinance as follows:
1. It shall be unlawful for any minor under the age of 18 years to loiter, wander, stroll, or play in any public place unsupervised by his/her parent, legal guardian, or other adult over the age of 21 years having the lawful custody or control of the minor and having the lawful authority to be at such places, between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. on weekdays and weekends; and provided further that the provisions of this section shall not apply in the following circumstances:
a. When a minor is accompanied by his/her parent, guardian, or other adult over the age of 21 years having the lawful custody and control of the minor;
b. When the minor is upon an emergency errand directed by his/her parent, guardian, or other adult over the age of 21 years having the lawful custody or control of the minor;
c. When the minor is traveling to, or returning directly from home from, lawful employment that makes it necessary to be in the above-referenced places during the proscribed period of time;
d. When the minor is attended an official school, religious, or recreational activity or any activity involving the exercise of first amendment rights of free speech, freedom of assembly, or free exercise of religion, provided such activity is supervised by adults and sponsored by an entity which takes responsibility for the minor, or going to or returning home from, without any detour or stop, an official school, religious, or recreational activity or any activity involving the exercise of first amendment rights of free speech, freedom of assembly, or free exercise of religion, provided such activity is supervised by adults and sponsored by an entity that takes responsibility for the minor;
e. When the minor is engaged in interstate and intrastate vehicular travel through the city with parental or guardian consent; or
f. When the minor is legally emancipated.
(f) This Ordinance shall become effective beginning on April 2, 2020 at 12:01 a.m. and shall remain in effect until April 14, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. unless extended by further action of Chairperson and is not intended to, and does not create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against Burke County, Georgia, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, this ORDER has been adopted by the Burke County Board of Commissioners on the 1st day of April 2020.
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