Perry takes charge against COVID once again

After assessing input and reviewing the impact of a second COVID wave on Houston County’s hospital system, the administration recommended that Perry Council adopt new restrictions for the city. Mandatory COVID restrictions will be effective for 21 calendar days, ending on September 22.

During this time, several restrictions shall be in place including canceling or postponing any city sponsored events with participation exceeding 30 people. This applies to both indoor and outdoor events. The City of Perry will also cancel city leisure indoor service programs, but will also require indoor city activities to abide with masking and social distance guidelines. As of August 25, 2021, Houston County reported 875 new COVID cases. This spike in numbers reached a total of 13,013. Of those, 987 cases required hospitalization.

“The council’s action only refers to city sponsored events. The Georgia National Fair, private businesses and schools are not going to be affected,” said Perry City Manager Lee Gilmour. He went on to reveal, “The high hospitalization numbers caused the hospital authority to contact the mayor and myself on July 28. The Perry Council also felt that the city could do a better job and contribute to the substantial decrease in the number of reported cases in Houston County.”

When asked about the possibility of the Georgia National Fair being canceled for a second consecutive year, Gilmour stated, “The City of Perry has no control over the Georgia National Fair, nor would we want control.”

Many scheduled events around the city have been postponed until the mandatory mask mandate is upheld. Food Truck Friday, which was scheduled for September 10, has been postponed, alongside the Perry Music Festival, which had been scheduled for September 18. Yoga in the Park will not be canceled, because it’s in an open area and there is very little chance that attendance at this event will reach extreme numbers.

“We look at the numbers every Wednesday and determine what impact that’s going to have going forward for the next 18 days,” said Gilmour.

With the Georgia National Fair around the corner, many locals are expecting the worst, while still hoping for the best. The Perry City Manager also mentioned, “They are basically overwhelmed at the hospitals. They’ve got larger numbers at the hospitals than has ever been reported throughout the existence of this pandemic.” The most recent numbers reported are, 133 hospitalized with 122 unvaccinated people in a Houston County hospital.

As a final statement regarding the new COVID restrictions in the city, Gilmour expressed, “We are doing our due diligence to decrease the spread.”

HHJ News