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The Georgia Department of Public Health’s published count of COVID-19 cases in the state declined during the weekend because of data coding errors, according to a report in the AJC. The DPH mistakenly logged the results of 231 tests that check for COVID-19 antibodies as diagnostic tests, causing them to be coded as confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, DPH spokeswoman Nancy Nydam said. This error was at least the third time in as many weeks that the DHP has wrongly reported a downward trend in COVID-19 cases. On Monday evening, the DHP confirmed cases stand at 38,283 and the death toll stands at 1,649.

Piedmont Healthcare is participating in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) expanded access program for the antiviral drug remdesivir, which was granted emergency use authorization on May 1. The investigational drug was shown in a clinical trial to shorten the recovery time in some COVID-19 patients. The program is available for patients at Piedmont Atlanta Hospital, Piedmont Fayette Hospital and Piedmont Columbus Regional-Midtown Campus and may be expanded to other Piedmont hospitals. Previously, Piedmont participated in the FDA’s compassionate use program for remdesivir.

The Atlanta City Council approved legislation Monday to ratify an executive order directing the city’s chief financial officer to allocate up to $1.5 million for nonprofit and philanthropic communities providing individual shelter options with supportive services for persons experiencing homelessness. The legislation is in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which represents a health risk to homeless populations because of congregate living environments, limited access to preventative measures, and higher likelihood for underlying health issues.

The post Coronavirus Update – May 18: Errors in case numbers; Piedmont gets remdesivir; money allocated for homeless appeared first on Atlanta INtown Paper.

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The Atlanta Police Department conducted a weekend-long operation to crack down on illegal street racing in the city that resulted in the arrest of 44 people, 114 citations, 29 impounded vehicles, and recovery of four firearms, including a semi-automatic rifle.

“We pledged to deal with these speeders and reckless drivers who have shown a complete disregard for the safety of others with these dangerous antics,” said Chief Erika Shields. “This weekend, with the help of our law enforcement partners, we made inroads. We will continue to impound, arrest and seek costly fines for those individuals who choose Atlanta for this senseless behavior.”

Led by its Contingency Operations Division, APD developed a strategy and used a combination of intelligence, technology and manpower to track the illegal street racers, according to a media release from the department.

Arrests and citations were issued at several locations throughout the city that have been hotspots for such activity in the past, including interstates and Spring Street in Midtown.

APD was assisted by the Georgia State Patrol, the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office and the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office and the City of Atlanta Department of Corrections.

“We could not have done this without the assistance of these agencies, and our ability to work together toward our common goal to stop these behaviors on local streets and highways,” said Deputy Chief Terrell Griffin, commander of the Contingency Operations Division. “It truly was a team effort.”

Officers and investigators from the Atlanta Police Department’s Auto Crimes Enforcement, APEX, Aviation, Motors and Intelligence units, as well as the Video Integration Center, worked in conjunction with zone patrol officers to intercept and address illegal activity by street racers as they gathered over the weekend in a variety of locations.

Arrests and citations included traffic offenses such as laying drag, speeding and reckless driving to other criminal offenses such as DUI, drinking in public, and possession of marijuana. One convicted felon was found to be in possession of a firearm and charged accordingly.

Shields said APD would continue to target illegal street racing, which has proliferated after the COVID-19 crisis meant less traffic and empty streets during shelter-in-place.

The post 44 arrested as Atlanta Police Department cracks down on illegal street racing appeared first on Atlanta INtown Paper.

Paint Love, Inc., an Atlanta-based nonprofit with a mission of bringing extraordinary arts programming to youth facing poverty and trauma, raised $6,140 at its fifth annual Artist Challenge fundraiser this past Saturday, surpassing the organization’s $5,000 fundraising goal.

The fundraiser, which was hosted virtually via Facebook Live due to the COVID-19 pandemic, featured three local artists who raced against the clock to complete a painting in just three hours. Their completed works of art were then available for auction through the following day. This year’s artists included Muhammad Yungai, Angela Bortone and Cathryn Bozone.

The fundraiser attendees were challenged to donate in order to help artists “unlock” the supplies needed to finish the artwork during the live stream. This year, the event was moderated by Daryl Funn who provided check-in interviews of the artists throughout the competition, and viewers also listened to live music, attended a yoga session and learned how to craft an origami butterfly.

All donations from the event will support Paint Love Inc.’s youth summer programming and will help bring 361 art kits and project guides to the kids that they serve at Women’s Resource Center to End Domestic Violence, Our House, Inc. and New American Pathways. Paint Love’s programming engages youth who have experienced a range of trauma and provides creative experiences to empower them to imagine a future not limited by the adversity they face.

A new cast of giant plant sculptures based on the characters of Alice in Wonderland will bloom at the Atlanta Botanical Garden this spring when the Midtown attraction reopens on Saturday, May 23.

Alice’s Wonderland Reimagined, presented through November 1, features a return of some of the enormous topiary-like sculptures presented in 2019’s Imaginary Worlds: Alice’s Wonderland joined by several new sculptures. In addition to a towering White Rabbit and sprawling chess board with Cheshire Cat perched nearby, look for a 16-foot Red Queen playing croquet and an all-new 14-foot Alice rotating in the Howell Fountain pool as she plummets down the “rabbit hole”.

The sculptures are created through the centuries-old art of mosaiculture in which steel forms are covered in fabric, filled with soil and planted with thousands of living plants to form a colorful carpet.
The Garden first introduced guests to the art in 2013 when it presented the United States’ first major exhibition of mosaiculture produced by International Mosaiculture de Montreal, a nonprofit group that has staged wildly successful displays of its work around the world.

In addition to this year’s Alice-themed sculptures, guests will be greeted by two permanent sculptures that are legacies from previous exhibitions – the iconic Earth Goddess and the lovable Shaggy Dog – as well as the Phoenix from the 2019 show.

Visitors also may enjoy the exhibition dramatically lit every evening with cash bars and music, thanks to new extended hours of 9 a.m. – 9 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. Members enjoy the Garden exclusively on Member Mondays from 8 a.m. – 9 p.m. (The Garden’s Gainesville location remains closed until further notice).

Tickets are available for purchase online only with timed entry for ensuring the safety and enjoyment of guests during a crowd-free experience.

Piedmont Healthcare is participating in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) expanded access program for the antiviral drug remdesivir, which was granted emergency use authorization on May 1. The investigational drug was shown in a clinical trial to shorten the recovery time in some COVID-19 patients.
 
The program is available for patients at Piedmont Atlanta Hospital, Piedmont Fayette Hospital and Piedmont Columbus Regional-Midtown Campus and may be expanded to other Piedmont hospitals. Previously, Piedmont participated in the FDA’s compassionate use program for remdesivir.
 
FDA expanded access programs, sometimes called “compassionate use,” represent a process by which patients with immediately life-threatening conditions or a serious disease can gain access to an investigational medical product for treatment outside of clinical trials when no comparable or alternative therapy options are available.
 
“Piedmont’s providers have been on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic and remdesivir gives them another tool to help care for our patients,” said Charles L. Brown, III, M.D., CEO of Piedmont Healthcare’s Physician Enterprise.
 
Amy Hajari Case, M.D., is Piedmont’s Medical Director of Pulmonary and Critical Care Research and principal site investigator for this program at Piedmont Atlanta. Ameera Waseem Siddiqi, M.D., is the investigator at Piedmont Fayette and Saeed Aasim Baloch, M.D., is the investigator at Piedmont Columbus.
 
“Piedmont’s purpose is to make a positive difference in every life we touch and by offering novel treatments to care for our COVID-19 patients, we are delivering on our promise,” Dr. Case said. “We had a positive experience with remdesivir early in the pandemic and are excited to be able to provide to our patients again.”

The Advisory Council for the Reopening of the City of Atlanta has submitted its final recommendations for a gradual reopening to Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.  Informed by economic indicators and medical science, the report contains evidence-based short, mid, and long-range recommendations for the safe and data-driven reopening of the City. 

The report reflects the insights and guidance of the Advisory Council, which was established by Mayor Bottoms through an Administrative Order on April 20^th of this year in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic. The 60-person Council is comprised of a diverse group of leaders and experts from across Atlanta’s business, nonprofit, healthcare, and government sectors.

“Thank you to the members of the Advisory Council for your diligence in providing a thoughtful, detailed roadmap that will help inform our plans on the reopening of the City of Atlanta,” said Mayor Bottoms. “I am also grateful to the thousands of individuals who participated in our Resident Survey—it is my strong belief that our residents must be a part of this process. Together, we are on a path to ensuring that our plans for reopening the City continue to prioritize the safety and well-being of all Atlantans.”

The report outlined three core focus areas for Atlanta’s reopening strategy, recommending:

The City establish and track clear metrics to signal to residents and businesses when they can more safely reopen, what safety measures they should take, and how their operations or routines may need to be adjusted. Metrics will also enable the City, in partnership with the State Department of Public Health and other agencies, to quickly identify resurgences of COVID-19, and provide an early warning system to the public in the event safety measures and restrictions need to be re-imposed.

The City supplement the State’s reopening criteria with additional, voluntary guidelines. The Council outlined five (5) sequential phases for reopening, providing specific metrics that should be achieved to advance to each next phase, and voluntary guidance for individuals, businesses/non-profits, and the City for each phase.

The City continue to work with public and private partners to address cross-cutting and sector-specific considerations for reopening, many of which cannot be addressed by a single actor or sector alone.

“After extensive research and review of global best practices, we believe the findings and recommendations in this report will help provide the City with safe and practical guidelines to help Atlanta residents and businesses through the COVID-19 crisis,” said Advisory Council Co-chair Ingrid Saunders Jones.

In addition to the insights from members of the Advisory Council and other leading health experts, the report also drew from the findings of a Resident Survey asking Atlantans how they were approaching and interacting with various businesses and venues during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conducted between April 28, 2020 and May 4, 2020 with over 15,700 respondents, the Survey showed:

An overwhelming majority of survey respondents indicated that, at the time of the survey, they felt unwilling to go to most businesses and venue types.

Approximately 97% of survey respondents indicated they will not feel safe going out to various venues after reopening without taking their own protective measures, such as wearing a face mask, hand washing, avoiding crowds, and wearing their own personal protective equipment (“PPE”).

Respondents overwhelmingly indicated that, if required to wear a mask by a workplace or business establishment, they would be willing to do so.

“The Advisory Council’s recommendations are based on the current available science on the virus, which we know is rapidly evolving,” said Advisory Council Co-chair Robert Ashe, III. “The Council stressed that as the City establishes metrics and guidelines for reopening, the guidance should be reevaluated and amended as the science and facts are updated and made available to the public.” 

The Advisory Council also recognized that there are Federal guidelines, as well as State Executive Orders, that have been issued pertaining to reopening. The Advisory Council’s voluntary recommendations are put forth as benchmarks for proceeding in a safe and deliberative manner within the context of the State’s reopening orders.  

The Mayor will review the Advisory Council’s recommendations and the current state of COVID-19 cases in the city and will provide additional guidance in the coming weeks to ensure a safe and data-driven reopening of the City.

The number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in Georgia continue to rise. As of the release of the Advisory Council’s report today, the Georgia Department of Public Health has reported 36,544 COVID-19 cases in the state of Georgia and 1,548 deaths. Fulton County is reported to have 3,632 COVID-19 cases and 159 of deaths. 

Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, released a special April edition of its Public Pension Funding Index (PPFI), in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting market volatility. Milliman’s PPFI consists of the nation’s 100 largest public defined benefit pension plans.

Our latest analysis shows funding for public pensions in April rebounded significantly from the first quarter of 2020, with an aggregate 5.92% investment return for the month – welcome news after Q1’s dismal -10.81% asset performance. April’s market gains led to a $200 billion funding improvement for the PPFI, enabling public pensions to recover half of their losses from the previous two months. We estimate that the aggregate deficit shrank from $1.819 trillion at the end of March 2020 to $1.619 trillion at the end of April. The resulting funded ratio climbed significantly, from 66.0% at the end of March to 69.8% as of April 30.

“April was a surprisingly positive month for public pensions, with many sectors of the market showing some signs of recovery,” said Becky Sielman, author of the Milliman 100 Public Pension Funding Index. “As economic fallout continues from the COVID-19 pandemic, plan sponsors will likely be keeping an eye on asset classes with delayed performance reporting, such as private equity, and market sectors that may be more vulnerable as the economy restarts.”

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