Pandemic-prompted restrictions banning large public gatherings and requiring distancing are being lifted statewide.
Gov. Brian Kemp signed an executive order last week that extended the public health emergency in place since last year, but rolled back many of the most restrictive measures.
Set to take effect on April 8, the rollback marks the broadest lifting of COVID-19 safety measures since the governor ended a statewide shelter-in-place order that was in place for about three weeks last April.
Going forward, restaurants, bars and other popular social spots will no longer face limits on the number of patrons, according to one of several executive orders Kemp signed last Wednesday, March 31. Capacities in public spaces have been kept at 50 people or fewer for many months.
The amount of space people will have to keep apart can also be reduced from 6 feet to at least 3 feet in movie theaters and 3.5 feet for restaurant and bar seating. Group fitness classes in gyms will have to keep exercisers at least 6 feet apart.
Shelter-in-place orders for residents in Georgia long-term care facilities, which have been in place since mid-March of 2020, will be lifted starting on April 8.
Kemp’s latest order also bars local police officers from shutting down businesses that refuse to comply with the new scaled-back distancing and sanitization rules.
Additionally, the order allows state government employees and public-school teachers to take up to 8 hours off of work without using vacation or sick time in order to receive COVID-19 vaccines.
The loosening of restrictions comes as the number of new COVID-19 cases in Hart County sits at just seven in the past two weeks. Since the DPH began tracking the data in 2020, there have been 1,687 cases reported in Hart County.
In Hart County, about every 1-out-of-5 residents has had their first vaccine dose, according to new data from the Department of Public Health. In total, 8,940 vaccines have been administered and 3,735 residents, or 14%, are fully vaccinated in Hart County.
Across the state, 4.2 million vaccines have been administered and about 1.5 million Georgians, or 15%, are fully vaccinated, according to DPH data. More than one-quarter, 27 percent, of Georgia residents have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Appointments for vaccines are available at the Hart County Health Department.
Vaccine eligibility in Georgia is now open to everyone ages 16 and over. The Pfizer vaccine is the only COVID vaccine currently approved for children aged 16 and older. To schedule an appointment, visit https://phdistrict2.org/, MyVaccineGeorgia.com, or by contacting a local provider.
Beau Evans with Capitol Beat News Service contributed to this report.