County of Clarke issued the following announcement on Aug. 9.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a new order temporarily halting evictions in counties with heightened levels of community transmission in order to respond to recent, unexpected developments in the trajectory of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the rise of the Delta variant. It is intended to target specific areas of the country where cases are rapidly increasing, which likely would be exacerbated by mass evictions.
CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky signed the order on August 3 determining the evictions of tenants for failure to make rent or housing payments could be detrimental to public health control measures to slow the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
This order will expire on October 3, 2021 and applies in United States counties experiencing substantial and high levels of community transmission levels of SARS-CoV-2, which includes Athens-Clarke County.
The eviction moratorium allows additional time for rent relief to reach renters and to further increase vaccination rates. In the context of a pandemic, eviction moratoria—like quarantine, isolation, and social distancing—can be an effective public health measure utilized to prevent the spread of communicable disease.
Eviction moratoria facilitate self-isolation and self-quarantine by people who become ill or who are at risk of transmitting COVID-19 by keeping people out of congregate settings and in their own homes.
For more information:
- https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/communication/EvictionProtectDeclare_508.pdf
- https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/communication/Signed-CDC-Eviction-Order.pdf
- https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-eviction-declaration.html
Source: County of Clarke
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