Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) defended a mandatory mask order Sunday, arguing that the requirement is not a political decision, but a necessary measure to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.
“My responsibility as mayor of Atlanta is to make decisions on behalf of the people of Atlanta that will protect our citizens,” Bottoms said on CBS ‘”Face the nation”.
“It is not about politics, it is about people. It is the more than 3,100 people who have died in this state, 130,000 who have tested positive. By the way, I, along with my husband and my children, am among the number of people who tested positive, “she added.
# COVID-19 in #Atlanta: “I haven’t actually seen any data or science that points to that,” @ KeishaBottoms says of @ GovKemp’s suggestion that the #BLM protest sparked recent spikes in #coronavirus cases.
Call Kemp’s “blame game” as the “most unusual” pic.twitter.com/ZCVoTK63vO
– Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) July 19, 2020
Bottoms noted an unpublished report from the White House Coronavirus Task Force, reported by the Center for Public Integrity, says Georgia is in the red zone for both cases and positive proof. The report recommends that Georgia’s mandate cover your face at the state level.
“When I look at the unpublished White House report that says Georgia is a red zone state, what that report says is that there are very clear guidelines that we must follow, very clear metrics that we must follow. Facial linings are one, ”said Bottoms.
“Atlanta is located in two counties in this state, two of the counties with the highest COVID-19 infection rates,” he added.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) last week issued an order prohibiting local municipalities from requiring that masks be worn in public.
Bottoms, and at least six other mayors in Georgia, have responded to Kemp on the order.
Georgia reported 4,689 new cases and 36 new deaths on Saturday, bringing the state total to 139.87 cases and 3,168 deaths.
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