As Gov.
Brian P. Kemp
begins
loosening business restrictions
imposed to contain the
coronavirus
, some
health professionals
and
mayors
around
Georgia
say it is
too soon
.
"I
respect
the
decision makers
, but
disagree wholeheartedly
with this decision," said
Chris Dorman
, president and CEO of
Southwell
health system, which includes
Tift Regional Medical Center.
"I am
disappointed
. I
hope
no other part
of our great
state
will
see
the
devastation
South Georgia
has
experienced
,"
Dorman
wrote on social media.
Tifton
Mayor
Julie Smith
said that "Gov.
Kemp
made
difficult
decisions
; I
don't understand or agree
with them. ... We
hope
that,
in spite
of the ability to go about, that
you
will
remain very restrictive
in your
movements
around town."
Smith
noted that the governor's "
shelter in place
(order) is
still in effect
24 hours a day, seven days a week – and this is for the state. The (City)
Council
will be making a
statement
in the next day or so; we are still
talking
with various
leadership
in our
school system
,
hospital
,
county government
and
health departments
to
see
how this could
impact
our area."
Officials are referring to
Kemp's order Monday
that
allows some businesses
to
reopen
while
following
specified
social-distancing requirements
and other
safety standards
, such as screening workers for fever and respiratory illness.
Kemp
is
allowing
businesses such as
gyms
,
hair and nail salons, tattoo parlors
,
massage therapists
and
bowling alleys
to
reopen
this
Friday
. The governor said that
theaters
and
dine-in restaurants
will be
allowed
to
reopen
on
Monday, April 27
, if they follow the guidelines.
Churches
will also be allowed to hold
in-church services
while
following social-distance requirements
.
“By taking this
measured action
, we will
get Georgians back to work safely
without undermining the
progress
that we have all made in the battle against
COVID-19
,”
Kemp
said in an outdoor press conference at the Capitol.
Kemp's previous statewide
shelter-in-place
order remains
in effect
though
April 30
. He said the
elderly
and
“medically fragile”
residents should
voluntarily stay home
until at least
mid-May
.
FEWER NEW CASES ACROSS STATE
As of
Tuesday
, the
state
reported a total of
20,166
positive cases for the
coronavirus
with
818
deaths.
"We
definitely
have a
plateauing
and what
appears
to be a
decline
" in number of positive COVID-19 cases, Dr.
Kathleen Toomey
, Georgia's
public health commissioner
, said at Kemp's press conference
Monday
.
Dr.
Marc Lipsitch
, a professor of epidemiology at the
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
, told the
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
that
reopening
some businesses are “a
very big risk
.”
“If you
open up enough
, it’s
almost for certain
” the
virus
will
strike again
, he said.
J. Scott Steiner
, president and CEO of
Phoebe Putney Health System
in
Albany
, which has seen
more COVID-19 related deaths
than anywhere else in
Georgia
, said
Tuesday
that while they are "very
encouraged
by the
trend
that we're seeing (with
fewer positive cases
arriving) we're
not there yet
; we're
not ready to declare victory
."
As of
Tuesday
,
Phoebe Putney
said that in the previous
24
hours, the health system had
24 new positive cases
and
five additional deaths
of positive
COVID-19
patients. As of Tuesday night,
Albany/Dougherty County
had a total of
1,456
positive cases and
103
deaths.
Tift County
had
92
positive cases and
four deaths
of
Tift County
residents.
Tift Regional Medical Center
reported a total of
237
positive cases handled and
19
deaths at the
Tifton hospital
, most involving
residents
of
other counties
.
MANY ELECTED OFFICIALS CONCERNED ABOUT REOPENING
Tift County Commissioner
Melissa Hughes
was
blunt
about the situation. On social media, she wrote: "Since the
governor
has
started opening
up the state,
while
you are out
shopping
,
pick out your casket
... If you are one of the ones blessed to
not have the virus
, but the
carrier
, and you are
roaming
around shopping, help your loved ones that you are
taking
the
virus back home
to,
pick out
the
10 people
they
want
at their
graveside funeral
. Sounds hard? Good! I say this because
I care
about
my community
, and I
don’t want to lose not one of you
to being
reckless
."
Many
of the state's
mayors
said Kemp's
reopening order
was both a
surprise
and
premature
.
"We are
not ready
for this," said
Albany
Mayor
Bo Dorough
. "We are
not
out of the woods
, and it is
irresponsible
for the
governor
to take these measures."
"I’m
extremely concerned
about the announcement the
governor
made. I
hope
that
he’s right
and I’m wrong, because
if he’s wrong, more people
will
die
,"
Atlanta
Mayor
Keisha Lance Bottoms
told an Atlanta TV station.
Mayor
Hardie Davis
of
Augusta
told
CNN
: “I think all of us — those of us who are
mayors
leading some of
Georgia’s largest cities
— we
find ourselves
, quite frankly,
shocked
by the
decision
."
Savannah
's mayor,
Van Johnson
, said
loosening restrictions
was “
reckless
,
premature
and
dangerous.
”
On
Tuesday
, the
governor
told
Fox News
that he has
heard
from
many
other
Georgians
who are
“tired”
of the
shutdown
that has
disrupted lives
and led to
record
unemployment
claims.
“It’s a
tough balance
,"
Kemp
said. "I
understand
where
folks
like the mayor (of
Atlanta
) and others
may agree
or
disagree
. I have
some people protesting
me because
I took this step
, and I
may have others
that
protest
me because
I didn’t go far enough."
