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City of Grovetown Mayor Gary Jones has been hospitalized out of an abundance of caution due to shortness of breath. Mayor Jones was admitted to a local hospital after tests showed early signs of pneumonia.
Yesterday, (Wednesday) it was determined that Mayor Jones tested positive for coronavirus. Mayor Jones was contacted by the Department of Public Health on that day and was given the results of his recent test, conducted Sunday at 3 p.m. at the medical drive-thru at Patriots Park. Mayor Jones remains in the hospital at this time and hopes to only be there a few days.
Mayor Jones says he started exhibiting symptoms synonymous with COVID-19 around March 19, 2020, such as shortness of breath, dry cough, nausea, loss of smell and taste and clogged ears. Mayor Jones, who is also an officer with Waynesboro Police Department, did video conferencing with a COVID-19 specialist at Augusta University Health. After discussing symptoms with the doctor, coupled with the fact that Jones is in a high-risk category, working in law enforcement and as City of Grovetown’s mayor, the doctor instructed him to self-quarantine for 14 days or three days with no symptoms.
Mayor Jones will continue to run the city and remain in constant contact with Mayor Pro-Tem Eric Blair and the City Administrator.
Mayor Jones can’t stress enough that residents need to follow the CDC guidelines, stay inside their house, don’t go out unless it is an emergency and keep practicing social distancing. The Surgeon General is quoting as saying this pandemic will get worse before it gets better.
