Solar Eclipse 2017: Cherokee Health Department To Close Early

CANTON, GA -- The North Georgia Health District will close its main office in Dalton and health departments in Cherokee, Fannin, Gilmer, Murray, Pickens and Whitfield counties early "in the interest of public safety" during the solar eclipse.

The county health departments will close at noon Monday, Aug. 21 while the Dalton district office will shutter its doors at 1 p.m. The closure applies to all public health services in the district, including environmental health, WIC and Children's Health services.

If you plan to view the solar eclipse, which is expected to begin around 2:35 p.m., residents are strongly encouraged to follow these safety precautions:

• Do not look directly at the sun.
• Sunglasses do not provide sufficient protection.
• Only look at the sun through an approved solar filter.
• For even safer viewing, observe indirectly by projecting the sun’s image onto a blank sheet of white paper with a pinhole camera or with binoculars.

The last coast-to-coast solar eclipse in the U.S. occurred in 1918, according to NASA. If you are in the path of totality, you will be able to witness a total solar eclipse, which involves the moon completely covering the sun. The path of totality will stretch from Salem, Oregon, to Charleston, South Carolina.

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"Observers outside this path will still see a partial solar eclipse where the moon covers part of the sun's disk," NASA states on its website.

For more safety information, visit NASA's website at https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/safety.

Image via NASA