We are ‘guinea pigs’ of Kemp’s ‘experiment’ to reopen GA amid COVID-19, Bibb sheriff says
After Gov. Brian Kemp told some business owners they could reopen Friday, one state sheriff worried about the mixed signals the public is getting from government officials.
Kemp’s measures have drawn criticism amid fears that Georgia is reopening businesses too soon — especially those that require close contact with customers.
Kemp announced that beginning Friday he would allow businesses such as massage salons, beauty parlors, barber shops, gyms and bowling alleys to reopen but still practice social distancing and other safety measures.
Bibb County Sheriff David Davis said he was concerned that Georgia is reopening too quickly.
“I guess he has his experts that he consults,” Davis told The Telegraph in a telephone interview, “and that’s his judgment. But just being out here on the street seeing it every day, I think we might have been better served to have waited just a little bit longer.
“I hate to think that Georgia is part of a grand experiment to see how reopening things will affect the virus. You might say we’re the guinea pigs. It’s sad that we’re getting so many conflicting notices and conflicting statements from the so-called experts.”
Davis said people have to make their own “best-informed decisions.”
He added his deputies will do their best to enforce the guidelines in place with the governor’s plan, but that the public will have to do its part as well.
The sheriff said anyone going to, say, get a haircut, who then sees people inside not practicing safe distancing, should leave.
“If we get calls on it, we will go and try to educate people as best we can,” Davis said. “But we just certainly are not gonna be the barber shop police. You just can’t do it. There’s too many of them. ... We will deal with the more egregious (violations).”
Earlier in the day, in a statement sent to Macon-area news outlets, Davis said it “will be impossible for deputies to check and monitor every business which will be allowed to reopen to determine if that business is adhering to the health guidelines.”
He asked that businesses and customers “use good judgment” and follow safety recommendations such as frequent hand washing. He also said those not comfortable going out to the now-open businesses should not go.
The sheriff’s statement added that “in the event of complaints, sheriff’s deputies will be making every effort to make contact with gatherings in excess of 10 people, where 6 feet of separation has not occurred. In such instances, deputies will be taking responsible steps to provide notice and educate individuals prior to taking any further law enforcement actions.”
This story was originally published April 24, 2020 at 2:05 PM.