Beginning Tuesday, January 19, Macon-Bibb County departments will change their schedules and operations in order to increase social distancing between employees and decrease face-to-face interaction with the public. Departments have been tasked with determining how to spread people apart from each other without impacting services to the public. These changes will be in place for at least the next two weeks as Macon-Bibb monitors the number of cases.

"Our goal is to protect people as much as possible while not having an impact on the services we provide every day," says Mayor Lester Miller. "Potholes still need to be filled, phones and emails need to be answered, checks need to be cut, and public safety must be protected. But we can find a way to do all of that in a safer manner when it comes to COVID-19."

Employees able to work from home will be allowed to do so, and directors will put measures in place to ensure all work is completed on time. People working from home have been provided laptops so they can continue their work and answer emails, and their desk phones will be forwarded so calls will be answered.

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For people that are unable to complete their work from home, measures are being put in place to maximize social distancing and minimize interaction with other people. This includes: requiring the wearing of facemasks in the building; using additional vehicles to reduce the number of people in them; asking people to call an office before visiting to determine if their request can be met over the phone or online; holding meetings over online platforms; and more.

"Every one of us should be taking every precaution to help slow the spread of COVID-19, and as organizations, we should put measures in place which protect each other," says Mayor Lester Miller. "There may be a vaccine, but it will take time for public health to administer it to everyone. This is not the time to take our foot off the gas of preventative measures."

"These measures will only help protect us during work hours, so we're asking people to do similar things in their personal lives," adds County Manager Dr. Keith Moffett. "Use curbside or delivery services for businesses and restaurants, avoid large gatherings of people, wear a mask whenever possible…it all has to be done to protect us while we wait for the vaccine to be given to everyone."

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