Monkeypox vaccine to be available for some in Savannah area amid concerns of increased diagnoses
Chatham County, which includes the Savannah area of Georgia, received its first shipment of Jynneos, a vaccine for the prevention of the monkeypox disease, last week and will begin distributing the vaccine to specific populations on Monday.
Georgia GOP still seeking a fight over Trump election loss
In a once reliably Republican Georgia congressional district that has turned into a swing district held by a Democrat, a GOP congressional convention on Saturday showed activists consumed by the unproven belief that Donald Trump had been cheated out of the 2020 presidential election.
Coastal Health District to end COVID-19 testing in Camden, shift to regional sites
(Photo by Danny Lawson - WPA Pool/Getty Images)Beginning Feb. 1, all COVID-19 testing services by the Coastal Health District in Southeast Georgia will shift to two regional testing sites: one in Chatham County and one in Glynn County. Public Health will no longer offer COVID-19 testing in Bryan, Camden, Effingham, Liberty, Long and McIntosh counties after this week. COVID-19 testing will continue to be available in those counties through private providers, pharmacies, urgent care centers and health clinics. โWe have to shift our priorities to better meet the demand for COVID-19 vaccine,โ said District Health Director Dr. Lawton Davis. For more information on COVID-19 testing or vaccine, go to covid19.gachd.org.
As Biden pulls ahead of Trump in Georgia, state says there will likely be a recount
ATLANTA โ Democrat Joe Biden took a narrow lead over President Donald Trump in the battleground state of Georgia early Friday morning. State officials couldnโt immediately provide the number of uncured absentee ballots. Provisional lists are kept at the county level, and there are thousands outstanding statewide that county officials will decide on whether to count by Friday. Donald Trump Jr. spoke Thursday evening at an event in Atlanta, along with several Georgia elected officials and decried the process. Meanwhile, outside the State Farm Arena where the final Georgia votes are being counted, we have a growing crowd.
EXPLAINER: Why AP hasn't called Georgia's close race
(AP Photo/John Bazemore)WASHINGTON โ WHY AP HASN'T CALLED GEORGIA'S CLOSE RACEA razor-thin margin and ongoing vote count are whatโs making the Georgia contest between President Donald Trump and Joe Biden too early to call. Under Georgia state law, a candidate can request a recount if the margin is within 0.5 percentage points. The initial margins in those races were 137 votes, 215 votes and 261 votes. Among all 31 recounts, the largest shift in results was 0.1%, in the 2006 race for Vermontโs Auditor of Accounts. Trump and Biden were locked in a tight contest Friday to secure the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency.
Spotlight on Georgia as stateโs 16 electoral votes remain at stake
Meanwhile, outside the State Farm Arena where the final Georgia votes are being counted, we have a growing crowd. At stake in Georgia are 16 electoral votes. The lawsuit alleges that a Republican observer watched a poll worker take unprocessed absentee ballots from a back room and mix them into processed absentee ballots waiting to be tabulated. In Georgia, ballots must be received by 7 p.m. on Election Day in order to count. In the race to the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency, Democrat Joe Biden currently has 264 while Trump has 214.
Georgia breaks turnout record for first day of early voting
ATLANTA โ More than 128,000 Georgians went to the polls Monday, a record for the first day of early voting in the state, according to the secretary of state's office. Election officials and advocacy groups have been pushing people to vote early, either in person or by absentee ballot, in anticipation of record turnout and concerns about coronavirus exposure. โGreat enthusiasm on the first day of voting leading to long lines does not necessarily mean there's a systemic problem. โIt is possible, of course, these measures will ultimately prove insufficient and long lines will still arise,โ he wrote. Determining the precise details of election administration is the responsibility of state and local election officials, Totenberg wrote.
Mayor of Tybee Island assails Georgia governorโs โreckless mandateโ to reopen stateโs beaches
TYBEE ISLAND, Ga. โ Tybee Island, one of Georgia's most popular vacation destinations, depends on beachgoers to keep the town's economy alive. The governor put Tybee Island back in the beach business -- whether the town liked it or not. Tybee Island Mayor Shirley Sessions fired back on Saturday, issuing a statement saying she and the town council donโt want the beaches reopened now. โWeโre at a very precarious situationโIn a video posted on Facebook, Sessions asked people to voluntarily stay away from Tybee Islandโs beaches. Our governor has mandated that the beaches in Georgia be open.โTybee Island is located near Savannah and has a resident population of about 3,000 people.
3 firefighters injured in Savannah apartment fire
WSAV-TV photoSAVANNAH, Ga. - Three firefighters are recovering after suffering injuries in a coastal Georgia apartment fire. Local news outlets report three Chatham County firefighters were taken to hospitals after a Saturday blaze at a Savannah apartment complex. One was taken to a burn center in Augusta with third-degree burns and underwent surgery on Sunday. The American Red Cross says a total of 11 families, including 13 adults and 17 children, were displaced from the Liberty Oaks apartment complex. Chatham Emergency Services CEO Chuck Kearns says lightning struck the apartment building during a thunderstorm, sparking the blaze.