“I have submitted to the City of Atlanta to stop the closure of local businesses immediately and to protect local workers from economic instability. For weeks we have been working in good faith with Mayor Bottoms, and she has agreed to renovate phase one of the city, which included business closures and a shelter in place order, “Kemp said. “Unfortunately, the mayor has made it clear that she will not agree to a regulation that protects the rights of privately owned owners in Georgia. Given this stalemate in negotiations, we will address this pressing issue in the next Executive Order.”
Bottoms said in a statement following the announcement that it was “grateful that this lawsuit has been filed and that the time and resources of our city and state can be better used to combat COVID-19.”
Kemp had argued that that the mayor’s mask mandate was in conflict with banning local action more prohibited than the state’s requirements. Under her order, not wearing a mask within the city limits of Atlanta is punishable by a fine and even up to six months in prison.
“Once again, if the mayor wants the curve in Atlanta flat, she should start enforcing state restrictions, which she has not done. We ask citizens and businesses to comply with the terms of the governor’s order. , which was created in collaboration with public health officials, “Kemp’s office said in a statement last month.
Defending his lawsuit last month, Kemp told a news conference that he was “confident that Georgians do not need a mandate to do the right thing.”
“Mayor Bottoms’ mask mandate cannot be upheld,” he added. “But their decision to shake up businesses and undermine economic growth is devastating. … I refuse to sit back and watch as disastrous policies threaten the lives and livelihoods of our citizens.”
The state of Georgia currently has more than 226,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus and has reported more than 4,400 deaths from the virus, according to Johns Hopkins University.
CNN’s Rachel Janfaza, Veronica Stracqualursi and Paul LeBlanc contributed to this report.
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