Expand / Collapse search
☰

Mayor Bottoms: Atlanta to move to Phase II of reopening

Published  September 11, 2020 4:38pm EDT
Atlanta
FOX 5 Atlanta

ATLANTA - Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said Friday she is immediately transitioning the City of Atlanta to Phase II of the City’s Five Phase Reopening Plan.

The city moved back into Phase I back in July due to an increase in coronavirus cases in metro Atlanta.

“The city has met the metrics of our data-driven plan to cautiously move back to Phase II,” Mayor Bottoms was quoted as saying in a statement to FOX 5. “COVID-19 continues to ravage families across the city and state. We must all remain vigilant, wear a mask, practice social distancing, and take the measures needed to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our communities.”

The mayor has maintained the city will use milestone metrics and recent data to move forward or backward on the city's plan which was compiled with the help of the Mayor’s Advisory Council for Reopening Atlanta and public health experts.

Sign up for FOX 5 email alerts

Phase II is considered the “Easing” phase. For individuals, the phase means:

  • Stay home except for essential trips
  • Wear a face mask in public (City mandate)
  • Frequent hand washing
  • Social distancing
  • Small, private gatherings of no more than 10 people, with social distancing

SEE ALSO Gov. Kemp withdraws lawsuit against Atlanta mayor

Phase II for businesses and non-profits means:

  • To-go and curbside pickups from restaurants and retail establishments
  • Continue practicing teleworking
  • Frequent cleaning of public and high touch areas

Download the FOX 5 Atlanta app for breaking news and weather alerts.

Under Phase II, the city government is recommended to:

  • Non-essential City facilities remain closed
  • Continue moratorium on special event applications
  • Continue communication with local and state authorities to monitor public health metrics

The mayor said it will either move forward or backward as the numbers show. The city writes:

“The City of Atlanta will continue to Phase III after reaching and sustaining Phase II metrics. The City will transition back to Phase I if there is a sustained increase in new COVID cases, hospitalizations, or positive test results, and hospital bed/critical care bed capacity falls below 15% all available beds and testing capacity falls below 25%.”

The mayor encourages residents to visit the COVID-19 Atlanta Reopening Dashboard and to review the reopening plan.

RELATED: CoronavirusNOW.com, FOX launches national hub for COVID-19 news and updates.