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Kemp: No Plans To Mandate Statewide Business Closures, Quarantine At This Time
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There are no plans currently to ban public events, institute a mandatory quarantine or shut down businesses in Georgia as both confirmed cases and testing capacity for COVID-19 continues to grow, Gov. Brian Kemp announced Thursday.
However, the governor outlined a new reality for many Georgians in his digital briefing.
“As you all know, life has drastically changed over the past few weeks here in our state, across our country, and certainly across the world,” he said. “Our Georgia children are now at home, many Georgians are working remotely, our public gatherings are few and far between, and that’s for a very good reason."
As of noon Thursday, 10 people have died from COVID-19 with nearly 300 cases across 36 counties reported, according to information released by the Georgia Department of Public Health. Four deaths are in Dougherty County, two are in Fulton County, and Cobb, Early, Fayette and Floyd have reported one death each.
Kemp said Georgia has taken “immediate action” to combat a looming supply shortage at medical facilities across the state and is working with federal officials to secure more tests and equipment.
“We are coordinating supply delivery to health care facilities that are in need, and we are certainly grateful for all of those who have offered up their inventory to help others,” he said. “Your sacrifice is literally saving lives.”
Georgia has received offers from companies like Walmart, the Atlanta Motor Speedway and UPS to use resources and real estate to aid in combatting coronavirus, and Kemp said a new 20-unit patient isolation zone at the state’s public safety training center in Forsyth is almost complete.
While other states and cities have ordered shutdowns of businesses and public life to lessen the spread of coronavirus, Kemp said he was not inclined to take such a drastic step at this time.
“Right now I’m not mandating business closures, shutting down public events or forcing people into quarantine,” he said. “I am, however, leaning on the advice of medical professionals and scientists, as well as urging local officials to do what is in the best interest of their communities.”
Earlier in the day, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms signed an executive order closing bars, bowling alleys, movie theaters and gyms while ordering restaurants to move to takeout or delivery only as a way to curb the virus in the city. In Savannah, bars will close and tours will stop this weekend.
A new state hotline for coronavirus (1-844-442-4681) has been inundated with several hundred calls a day from people seeking public health information.
It is important for those who might be experiencing symptoms to call their primary care doctor or an urgent care clinic and not just show up at an emergency room or doctor’s office unannounce, Kemp advised.
Dr. Kathleen Toomey, the state’s public health commissioner, emphasized testing would be prioritized for those most at risk: older Georgians, those with existing medical conditions and health care professionals who are treating the illness.
“The most important thing that the Georgia public can do right now is to follow these guidelines, to stay home, don’t go out if you’re sick,” she said. “Our response to this epidemic is going to require all of us working together to ensure that we combat this virus.”
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