May 1st, 2020 – 3:00 PM

Governor Brian P. Kemp, Dr. Kathleen Toomey, and The Georgia Department of Public Health

Governor Brian P. Kemp, Dr. Kathleen Toomey, and the Georgia Department of
Public Health (DPH) urge all Georgians to continue to follow safe daily habits to reduce our risk
of exposure to COVID-19 and keep the virus from spreading. Wear a face covering in public
settings, practice social distancing, and wash your hands frequently.

A cloth face covering should be worn whenever people are in a community setting where social
distancing may be difficult such as in the grocery store or picking up food at a restaurant or
riding public transportation, and especially in areas of widespread community transmission of
COVID-19. Cloth face coverings help slow the spread of the virus and help people who may be
infected and not know it from transmitting it to others. The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) has easy to follow instructions on how to make a low-cost cloth face covering.
Cloth face coverings should allow for breathing without restriction, cover the nose and mouth
and be laundered and machine dried after use.

Cloth face coverings should not be placed on children under the age of 2, or anyone who has
trouble breathing, or is unconscious or otherwise unable to remove the mask without
assistance.

The use of cloth face coverings does not take the place of social distancing. Stay at least 6 feet
from other people, do not gather in groups, stay out of crowded places and avoid mass
gatherings.

Wash your hands frequently and thoroughly with soap and water or use an alcohol-based hand
sanitizer (at least 60% alcohol) when soap and water are not readily available. Practice good
health hygiene covering your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze.

For more information about COVID-19 visit https://dph.georgia.gov/novelcoronavirus or https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html.