With 18 new cases of COVID-19 reported for Dawson County in the past week, City of Dawsonville officials are encouraging citizens to wear masks and to continue practicing social distancing to slow the pandemic's spread. 

At the Dawsonville City Council Meeting held on July 20, City Manager Bob Bolz gave an update on virus numbers in the county. 

“I spoke with Fire Chief Danny Thompson, and currently in Dawson County, we have 202 confirmed cases, 93 of which are active,” Bolz said. “And in Dawson there’s been 3 deaths and 30 hospitalizations.” 

City Council member John Walden, who represents the city on the Board of Health, was also able to give an update from the recent Board of Health meeting. 

“Through the meeting, they pretty much talked about how we’re seeing numbers going up around us,” Walden said, “and we’re very fortunate that Dawson County is only going up a little and not as much as our surrounding neighbors’ numbers are.”

Dawsonville Mayor Mike Eason encouraged council members and the general public to make sure to continue taking every precaution possible to avoid spreading the virus. 

“I know a lot of our businesses, particularly big chains, are requiring people to wear masks, and I think we should encourage people to wear a mask as much as possible when they’re in public,” Eason said. “The social distancing issue is extremely important, and it’s something that we can help ourselves by wearing masks when we’re out in public.” 

Walden echoed the mayor’s statement, adding that those who don’t already have access to preventative measures such as sanitizer or masks just need to ask for help.

“Don’t be afraid to ask if you need hand sanitizer or masks, because in this community we live in people are glad to help out,” Walden said. “I know this is a battle that we’re facing and we just gotta continue practicing what we’re doing and we’ll get through this; we’re all in this together and we just gotta continue doing what we’re doing.”