Georgia governor Brian Kemp has outlawed any ordnance that would require people to wear masks in public. The executive order, signed Wednesday, prevents Georgia cities from enacting their own laws requiring masks in public. Of course, this doesn’t prevent private businesses from requiring masks for shoppers.
However, many heath officials in the region are baffled at Kemp’s move. Many have pointed out that this is the opposite of what the state should be doing. With COVID cases surging in the state and no signs of a vaccine or cure on the horizon, states need to be more aggressive in clamping down on the virus. Instead, Kemp is stopping cities from doing just that.
COVID numbers in Georgia are soaring as Kemp’s order comes down. It voids a mask mandate passed by the city of Atlanta, as well as similar provisions in larger cities throughout the state. However, the proviso from Kemp’s office does “strongly encourage” masks. The mayor of Savannah, Georgia, Van Johnson, took to Twitter to voice frustration with the governor.
“Every man and woman for himself/herself. Ignore the science and survive the best you can. In #Savannah, we will continue to keep the faith and follow the science. Masks will continue to be available!” Johnson wrote on the social media site. Savannah was the first city in Georgia to enact a mask mandate in response to the pandemic.
In other Republican-led states, the opposite has held true. Governors who once resisted calls for mask mandates are now embracing them in the name of slowing the virus. Kay Ivey, the governor of Alabama, has stated that she’s in favor of a mask mandate. She expressed how she wished people didn’t have to be ordered to act in their own best interest.
Doug Ducey and Greg Abbot, the governors of Arizona and Texas, respectively, also tried to stop their cities from enacting mask policies. However, both determined later on that this was foolish, and backed off. Arizona has allowed cities to go ahead with their own mask policies. Meanwhile, Texas has an official mask mandate now.
As people are growing more frustrated with the virus, and with the lockdowns meant to contain it, a dynamic is shifting. While some people are out shopping for phone deals and grabbing lunch at the mall, others are begging for their states to enact stricter COVID-19 policies.
