Kemp’s executive order overrides the masks mandates imposed by some local governments as Covid-19 cases reoccur in cities across the state, which already claim more than 3,000 lives.
Despite Kemp having resisted a statewide mask mandate for Georgia, other Republican governors are now demanding to cover their faces in their states.
Kemp’s previous executive orders prohibited local action from being more restrictive than state requirements, but Wednesday’s order made special mention of face and mask coverage requirements.
Savannah’s mayor, who signed a mask mandate for the city, responded to Kemp’s decision.
In a CNN interview earlier this month, Johnson said that because the city was reaching new daily registries of coronavirus cases, “it was really necessary that we take more drastic steps to protect our city.”
He told CNN that the city would offer masks to criminals before giving them a subpoena.
After Kemp’s order was issued, Johnson said Wednesday that Savannah would continue “following the science” and that she would still have masks available to residents.
The governor’s office had argued that Bottom’s order is not “legally enforceable,” noting that Kemp’s executive order limits local action to be less restrictive than state measures.
“Do you know who is caught in the battle between the Governor of Georgia and local governments? Grocery store clerks, retail workers and restaurant servers,” Mayor Lynn Deutsch wrote on Twitter. “In other words, only people who probably don’t have health insurance and pay time off.”
“Since the beginning of this catastrophe, Brian Kemp has shown that he has absolutely no competence in this process,” Abrams said Wednesday.
Kemp has encouraged Georgians to wear a mask, and has put it on in public, but argues against requiring it of all residents.
“We don’t need a mandate for people to do the right thing,” Kemp told reporters earlier this month.
“I still believe this will be a difficult order to fulfill, and I always prefer personal responsibility over a government mandate,” Ivey said at a press conference on Wednesday. “However, I also know, with all my heart, that the numbers and data for the past few weeks are definitely going in the wrong direction.”
CNN’s Joe Sutton, Dianne Gallagher, Steve Almasy, Pierre Meilhan and Sharif Paget contributed to this report.
.
