Area businesses invited to take the Rome GA Safe Pledge

December 12, 2020–3:09 p.m.

NEWS RELEASE

The City of Rome remains diligent and proactive in its efforts to support community mitigation strategies for the COVID-19 virus. The city has partnered with local healthcare leaders to launch the Rome GA Safe pledge program to help protect our citizens, visitors and healthcare workers.  Local healthcare partners include: Georgia Department of Public Health, Floyd Medical Center, Harbin Clinic and Redmond Regional Medical Center. All area business are invited to take the Rome GA Safe Pledge.

RomeGaSafe.com has been created for pledging and viewing pledges. By taking the pledge, businesses commit to help stop the spread of COVID-19 by following cleaning and disinfecting  protocols to help ensure the health and safety of everyone. Businesses who make the pledge will receive access to a toolkit of printable graphics for display at their business. Each business will also be listed on the pledge web page. These businesses will be added to a list available via links to these websites: City of Rome, Georgia’s Rome Office of Tourism and Downtown Rome.

“We encourage every business to take the pledge to keep health and safety top of mind for everyone and to communicate the importance of following safety protocols to reduce the spread of COVID-19,” said Rome City Manager, Sammy Rich.

Northwest Georgia continues to see increasing numbers of positive COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. Local officials have stressed the importance of being mindful of precautions to help lower transmission and to prevent overwhelming our medical facilities.

“While practicing safe physical distancing  —  even when wearing a mask  —  remains the single most important risk-reduction action we can take,” says Dr. Gary Voccio, health director for the ten-county Georgia Department of Public Health Northwest Health District, “I strongly support and encourage the use of masks by the general public to help reduce the transmission of coronavirus in our community. I wear one myself when I’m out in public. In areas where face coverings are mandated, the public should follow the mandate and wear them. We must do everything we can as individuals and as a community to protect ourselves, look after others, and prevent the burden on our hospitals and healthcare system from becoming overwhelming.  Mask wearing helps accomplish all three of these goals.”

The Rome GA Safe Pledge supplements the action of the Rome City Commission Emergency Mask Ordinance unanimously passed on December 8, 2020. The order requires face coverings in all public places and aligns with Governor Brian Kemp’s order stipulating that employees at all restaurants, retail stores, salons, grocery stores and pharmacies wear a face covering at all times while having face to face interaction with the public.

The City of Rome will continue to partner with local healthcare leaders to address the COVID-19 virus in the community. Local government COVID-19 updates and resources are available at: https://www.romefloyd.com/coronavirus-updates

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