Kemp says he’s putting ‘people over pandemic politics’ with Atlanta COVID-19 lawsuit
Gov. Brian Kemp said his administration is fighting for both the “lives and livelihoods” of Georgians after taking legal action against Atlanta’s mayor and city council members over coronavirus restrictions he alleges are unenforceable and illegal.
“Mayor (Keisha Lance) Bottoms’ mask mandate cannot be enforced. But her decision to shutter businesses and undermine economic growth is devastating,” he said during a Friday morning press conference. “Just like sending in the Georgia National Guard to protect those living in our capital city from crime and violence, I refuse to sit back and watch as disastrous policies threaten the lives and livelihoods of our citizens. We will fight to stop these reckless actions and put people over pandemic politics.”
As cases and hospitalizations continue to rise statewide, Kemp and state health officials are working to shore up hospital bed capacity. But they also acknowledge that more testing needs to be done and that current delays in testing results are “unacceptable.”
As August approaches, some of the state’s school districts will hold only online classes — a decision Kemp says he personally disagrees with because children “need to be in the classroom.”
Here are some of the key takeaways from Kemp’s coronavirus news conference:
Legal battle with Atlanta and Georgia’s restrictions
Kemp’s comments Friday on the lawsuit against Bottoms and members of the Atlanta City Council focused on the city’s recent mask mandate and Bottoms directing the city to return to Phase One re-opening guidelines last week.
Executive orders over the past several months have prevented local governments from enacting more or less restrictive coronavirus laws, but the newest order from Kemp explicitly bans governments from instituting mask ordinances.
Bottoms wrote on Twitter Thursday that the reopening guidelines were recommended, but Kemp said her statements caused the state’s Restaurant Association to “freak out” because business owners thought they might have to close that evening.
“It sends a terrible message,” he said. “It creates economic hardship. There’s no reason to do that right now.”
Kemp continued to echo his previous statements against a statewide mask mandate. He called local ordinances that require the use of face coverings as “unenforceable” while he continues to encourage people to wear them. Instead, he called on local leaders to enforce the terms of the current executive order.
Georgians, he said, don’t need a mandate to do the “right thing.” The governor asked Georgians to take four actions over the next four weeks to stop the spread of COVID-19: wear a mask, stay six or more feet apart from people you don’t live with, wash your hands and follow the state’s executive order.
“Government is not going to be the answer to all people’s problems,” he said. “I have grave concern about our young people and other people getting so reliant on the government that we lose what the basis of this country was found on, and that’s freedom and liberty and opportunity for anyone. And everybody has the liberty to do the right thing right now, and I’m asking them to do it.”
Improving testing and increasing hospital capacity remain goals as disease trends move ‘in the wrong direction’
A document prepared for the White House Coronavirus Task Force and published by the Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit newsroom based in Washington, D.C., shows Georgia is one of 18 states in the coronavirus red zone.
“Disease trends are moving in the wrong direction in Georgia with record numbers of new cases occurring in urban, suburban and rural areas. Test positivity continues to increase. The number of tests has increased, but more testing is needed,” the document states.
The document also advises a statewide mask mandate be passed, and to allow local governments to pass more restrictive coronavirus policies.
A White House official told McClatchy that the administration’s task force is recommending that states listed in “red zones” begin implementing more stringent protective measures.
“Dr. Birx and some other members of the task force put together that document,” a White House official confirmed, referring to Deborah Birx, coordinator for the White House Coronavirus Task Force. “There are measures that they can take to help slow the spread. I think what the task force and the administration has been consistent in saying is that we don’t have plans to shut down the economy again.”
Kemp and Georgia health commissioner Dr. Kathleen Toomey on Friday expressed frustration over delays in testing results as demand has increased. Some results take as long as two weeks to come back, Toomey said.
State officials plan to announce a new regional testing partner that has the capability to process 10,000 tests a day, Kemp said.
The state’s current test positive rate shows the virus is spreading in communities, and health officials continue to see outbreaks at camps, churches, worksites and other places where large groups of people gather.
More than 40,000 of the state’s positive cases have been interviewed, and over 86,200 contacts have been identified. The state currently employs roughly 1,300 contact tracers with plans to expand that staff to 2,000.
While acknowledging that Georgia needs more testing, Toomey told reporters she didn’t think other states were doing any better. But FiveThirtyEight, a digital news website known for data reporting, reports Georgia conducted an average of 12,278 COVID-19 tests per day in June, 81% short of Harvard Global Health Institute’s goal for the state of 64,048. Only South Carolina, Alabama, Arizona and Mississippi were further from meeting the goal, which differs for each state.
Hospitalizations have increased 39% over the past week, Toomey said, and reports from the state’s emergency management agency show several hospital regions with less than 10 critical care beds available as of Thursday.
State officials have readied an 80 bed facility in Milledgeville and are preparing a 120-bed facility at the World Congress Center in Atlanta to handle patients if needed. Earlier this week, Kemp announced 62 beds would open at the Marcus Tower of the Piedmont Atlanta campus to treat COVID-19 patients and provide the Atlanta area with additional surge capacity.
As of Thursday, 131,275 COVID-19 cases and 3,104 deaths have been confirmed statewide.
This story was originally published July 17, 2020 at 12:45 PM with the headline "Kemp says he’s putting ‘people over pandemic politics’ with Atlanta COVID-19 lawsuit."