ATLANTA – State Representative Viola Davis (D-Stone Mountain) recently submitted a memorandum on January 8, 2021, to the DeKalb County Board of Education (BOE) calling for the cancelation of in-person instruction at DeKalb County schools. In her memo, Rep. Davis cited recent reports of a new variant of COVID-19, which is reported to be a more contagious strain of the virus, and requests that the DeKalb County BOE continue to reevaluate its current action plan regarding COVID-19 in local schools.
“As elected officials, we take the safety and security of our community and children very seriously, so I believe the DeKalb County Board of Education has done the right thing by canceling in-person instruction for the time being,” said Rep. Davis. “Our constituents respect our aggressive actions to slow the spread of the coronavirus, because we value the health and well-being of our students and school staff to be of the utmost importance.”
Rep. Davis believes a suspension of in-person instruction is beneficial due to the recent increase in COVID-19 cases in Georgia, among other reasons. Her letter to the board highlights that the state’s positivity rate was 19.4 percent when the governor first issued a shelter-in-place order on April 3, 2020. As such, she believe the same course of action is necessary due to the recent positivity rates exceeding the rate from April 3, 2020.
She also urges the board to seek increased action to combat the elevated rates of infection among children in Georgia. According to Rep. Davis’ memorandum, the rates of infection among Georgia children have more than doubled, with the greatest spike among ages 10 to 17. Recent reports also show the elevated risk of long-term health problems for children who have contracted the virus, such as multisystem inflammatory disease, or MIS-C. Rep. Davis also hopes that an aggressive response by the DeKalb County BOE would curb the increasing number of hospitalizations due to COVID-19.
Additionally, Rep. Davis, along with other members of the Georgia House Democratic Caucus (GHDC) Subcommittee on COVID-19, recently submitted a letter to Governor Brian Kemp to request that he reevaluate the state’s current response plan regarding the spread of COVID-19 within the state of Georgia. In the GHDC subcommittee’s most recent letter, these legislators request that Gov. Kemp review the need for a shelter-in-place order or limit large gatherings in bars, clubs and restaurants. Additionally, this subcommittee requests the statewide closure of schools for in-person instruction, mandate masks and implement a moratorium on evictions and cutoff of utilities for 2021.
“Our governor also needs to reevaluate the state’s current measures to protect the health and welfare of the public,” said Rep. Davis. “My colleagues and I hope that our governor leads by example. However, I appreciate our local school leaders decision to act now before children are further put in harm’s way.”
For more information on Rep. Davis’ recent letter to Gov. Kemp, please click here.
*Editor’s Note: Copies of the letters to the DeKalb County BOE and Governor Brian Kemp are attached.
Representative Viola Davis represents the citizens of District 87, which includes portions of DeKalb County. She was elected to the House of Representatives in 2018 and currently serves on the Insurance, Interstate Cooperation and Science and Technology committees.
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