Teen drivers in Georgia who were issued driver’s licenses during the Covid-19 pandemic without a road test will have to take the driver’s test after all, according to a new executive order signed today by Gov. Brian Kemp.
A previous executive order signed by Kemp allowed for teens who met certain qualifications to upgrade their permits into licenses without taking a road test. Kemp said the new order will supersede the previous order.
The new order says the Department of Drivers Services shall provide a process for drivers who have been awarded a driver’s license without completing an on-the-road test to complete the on-the-road test no later than September 30.
The on-the-road test may be administered by examiners riding in the vehicle with the applicant during the test or by remote means, the order said.
The Georgia Department of Drivers Services on May 6 said that nearly 20,000 teenagers had received their driver’s license without a road test.
Plans from several major US airlines on how to enforce their mandatory mask requirements, obtained by CNN, reveal that for the most part they will rely on passenger cooperation rather than strict enforcement.
The American Airlines flight attendant memo describes how they should handle customers who don’t comply with the policy: “please encourage them to comply, but do not escalate further. Likewise, if a customer is frustrated by another customer’s lack of face covering, please use situational awareness to de-escalate the situation.”
“If for some reason this policy causes a disturbance onboard, we’ve counseled our flight attendants to use their de-escalation skills, and they do have the flexibility to re-seat customers on the aircraft as needed,” United said in a statement.
The airline says there will be “challenges” to enforcing its policy.
In a nod to how charged wearing masks has become, the policy says:
“Please be sensitive to the current environment – remember to leverage our Hospitality Promises and ‘Ask, Bargain & Convince’ skills to de-escalate a situation with a non-compliant or frustrated Customer, and use your best judgement to uphold our service standards in order to minimize disruptions. While Customers failing to comply will not prompt the need for diversion or immediate removal, our Inflight Crewmembers should advise an Airports Crewmember upon arrival.”
Its policy also reminds workers that they aren’t allowed to make people leave the terminal for not wearing a mask.
CNN has reached out to Delta and Southwest as well.
Semester at Sea, a college study abroad program, announced that it is canceling its program in the fall of 2020 due to coronavirus concerns and travel restrictions.
"We have the responsibility to cancel the Fall 2020 Voyage," Semester at Sea CEO Scott Marshall said in a statement Tuesday.
About a month ago, it was announced that half of the fall session would be on the ship and half online, but as the number of coronavirus cases around the world increased, the program was canceled completely, the statement said.
"Neither government agencies nor professional industries have proven policies and procedures to contain the pandemic while still allowing for travel. As a result, international travel remains uncertain and will for some time in the future," the statement said.
Marshall said the only other time Semester at Sea was canceled was in 1977 due to low enrollment.
"We are confident that this is both the right decision and the best path forward for Semester at Sea," Marshall said in the statement.
The statement also said the program lost nearly $2 million, including $1.4 million in refunds, when the spring voyage was cut short at the beginning of the pandemic.
"We have taken prudent and significant cost-saving measures to reduce our overhead, including a tiered compensation reduction for all leadership and staff, and significant decrease in travel, materials, and business operations," Marshall said in the statement.
He also said the company received a loan from the Payment Protection Program as part of the CARES Act.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp issued a new order that live performance venues, bars and nightclubs must remain closed through May 31.
The order will also allow 10 people per 300 square feet in a public space, such as restaurants and dining rooms, and allow the size per table from six to 10 people.
The order will also allow the increase of a childcare facility from "10 to 20 people so long as the staff-to-child ratio set by the Department of Early Care and Learning are also maintained," he said.
"(Georgians) must continue to follow social distancing and gatherings of more than 10 people remain banned unless there is at least six feet between each person," he said.
He said shelter-in-place must remain for people who are "medically fragile" through June 12.
Kemp also announced that "starting May 14, summer day camps are allowed to operate if they can meet 32 minimum, mandatory criteria," and that they "are not allowing overnight summer camps in Georgia at this time."
Vice President Mike Pence tweeted a picture of the coronavirus task force meeting showing him, along with Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Deborah Birx, seated distanced from one another with all three in face masks.
Earlier on Tuesday, Fauci testified in front of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions via teleconference from his home.
In a joint statement released today, Fauci, Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Dr. Stephen Hahn, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, all said they would attend meeting at the White House if needed, leaving their respective versions of quarantine after being exposed to a White House staffer who has coronavirus. Fauci has previously said that he will attend the White House if needed.
“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have together determined that government entities working in support of the COVID-19 response efforts are providing essential services and the current guidelines for critical infrastructure workers apply,” they said.
“Therefore, providing that they are asymptomatic, screened, and monitored for fever and other symptoms, wear a face covering, and maintain a distance of at least six feet from others, Drs. Redfield, Hahn, and Fauci can and will participate in meetings on the White House complex when their attendance is needed.”
On Monday, Birx and Pence both participated on a call with governors, but they were on video teleconference in separate rooms.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey will allow professional sporting events in the state starting on Friday.
“We have had some discussions with leaders in these leagues,” Ducey said Tuesday.
So far, none of the major US sports leagues have announced when their events will resume.
A number of Major League Baseball teams have their spring training games in Arizona, and Ducey has previously said the state may be able to accommodate games for other teams that normally play elsewhere.
Gyms and fitness centers will also be allowed to reopen with special precautions starting Wednesday.
The governor also announced that the stay-at-home order will be allowed to expire on Friday, but residents are advised to continue social distancing.
“This is not a green light to speed,” Ducey said. “This is a green light to proceed.”
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The researcher behind the influential model by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington said on Tuesday that the United States is “speeding towards relaxing social distancing,” leaving the country on an “unfortunate trajectory” as states begin to reopen.
The model predicts that there will be 147,000 deaths in the US by August 4.
“When we started off making projections, we had assumed that all the states were going to sort of follow the New Zealand model, which is to keep social distancing in place until transmission gets to a very low level,” Dr. Christopher Murray, the director of the IHME, told CNN.
“We’re not doing that. We’re speeding towards relaxing social distancing. People are getting the message, they’re getting out,” he said. “And I think we’ll see the numbers go up unless we see the benefits of people being cautious, wearing masks – and capacities to test, contact trace and isolate go up faster than we think they may.”
Explaining the increased death projection, Murray pointed to relaxed social distancing and increased mobility – essentially people moving around more, which may lead to more contact and transmission.
“We’re seeing upward trends in case numbers in a number of states, and big swings up in mobility,” he said.