Georgia’s coronavirus emergency order expires Monday. Here’s why Kemp hasn’t extended it yet
Editor’s note: Kemp extended his statewide shelter in place order on April 8. Read more about it here.
Across the country, governors have issued “shelter in place” orders to slow the rate of the spread of COVID-19 and reduce the impact on a healthcare system projected to be overwhelmed by patients needing critical care.
Gov. Brian Kemp’s shelter in place order expires on April 13. Most shelter-in-place orders in the U.S. last through April, including those issued by Georgia neighbors Alabama and Florida. The Telegraph asked the governor’s office why he issued a 10-day order.
“The order coincides with our public health emergency declaration,” spokesman Cody Hall said. “Provided the governor extends the emergency, he will be able to extend the shelter in place order.”
The Telegraph responded by asking the governor’s office when Kemp would begin considering an extension, and what information would factor into his decision.
“The Governor is continuing to listen to the advice of multiple public health officials and review the latest data on Georgia’s COVID-19 response,” Hall said. “We will make an announcement on the extension of the public health emergency and the April 3rd Executive Order at the appropriate time.”
Macon-Bibb County Mayor Robert Reichert issued an emergency order on March 23 that was superseded by Kemp’s. Reichert’s emergency declaration technically expired April 6; a spokesman said county leaders are watching for an extension from Kemp and discussing how to move forward if the order is allowed to expire.
When Kemp announced a shelter in place order on April 2, he was one of the last governors in the country to do so; elected officials in Georgia’s hardest hit communities — Dougherty and Fulton counties — publicly called on him to issue one.
Georgia’s shelter in place order is intended to limit the spread of COVID-19 and to allow hospitals and healthcare providers to “prepare for the patient surge that we know is coming,” Kemp said at the press conference announcing the order. An analysis of reported available hospital beds indicates Macon-area hospitals will need to more than double their ICU bed capacity as the number of critically ill patients peaks around April 24.
Waiting to relax shelter in place restrictions is key to reducing the number of cases and deaths as well, according to an analysis of the 1918 Spanish influenza pandemic by the National Institutes of Public Health.
“Cities that relaxed their restrictions after the peak of the pandemic passed often saw the re-emergence of infection and had to reintroduce restrictions,” the report reads.
This story was originally published April 7, 2020 at 11:37 AM.