President Trump took action late on August 8th, to sign executive orders unilaterally addressing coronavirus stimulus spending after negotiations with congressional Democrats stalled again on Friday, which was a self-imposed deadlines for the two sides to reach agreement.

The President’s actions include:

• Signing a presidential memorandum to provide temporary payroll tax relief for American families who have been hard hit by the coronavirus.
• Ensuring Americans who have lost their jobs and want nothing more than to return to work have the unemployment benefits they need during this crisis.
• Signing an executive order to help ensure Americans facing financial hardships due to coronavirus do not face eviction or foreclosure.
• Signing a presidential memorandum to provide student loan relief for Americans who have faced financial harm due to coronavirus.

• Timing
  • The order took effect: April 3rd
  • End date: at least April 30
• Overview:
  • Georgians can exercise outside as long as they stay at least 6 feet apart.
  • People should not entertain visitors.
• Essential businesses will remain open, including: laundromats, dry cleaners, home construction, hardware stores, defense plants, banks, sawmills, grocery stores, pharmacies, gun stores, and news outlets.
• Businesses that must close:
  • Dine-in restaurants, bars, gyms, movie theatres, and all other entertainment venues.
• Non-essential businesses can engage in the following activity:
  • Maintaining the value of a business, establishment, corporation, non-profit, or organization by providing services, managing inventory, ensuring security, and processing payroll and employee benefits.
  • The minimum necessary activities to allow employees or volunteers to work remotely, or patrons to participate remotely.
  • Outdoor work that does not include regular contact with other persons — such as delivery services, landscaping, contracting, and agricultural work.
• The order is enforced by the Georgia National Guard and state, local law enforcement agencies.

You can find the official order here.

As of April 1, all public elementary, secondary, and post-secondary schools are closed through the remainder of the school year. If you want to get more detail on your child’s school district, please visit the Georgia Department of Education website.

Guidance on the Essential Critical Infrastructure Workforce from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Accessing reliable and current public health information is critical during this crisis. You can find factual and up to date information on COVID-19 on the Georgia Department of Health’s website, or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website.

You can find a daily status update on Georgia’s fight against COVID-19 here, and separate fact from fiction easily on FEMA’s coronavirus rumor control page.

If you feel like you are sick or think you have been exposed to someone with COVID-19, please isolate yourself and then follow the steps laid out here. You can also call the COVID-19 hotline at (844) 442-2681. If you need to find the hospital nearest you, use this link.

If you are healthy and want to make a difference for other Georgians during the pandemic, you can sign up as a medical volunteer at this link. You can also find and donate to food banks in your area by following this link.