New York Gov. Cuomo Offers Coronavirus Assistance To Atlanta

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is taking up New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on his offer to send a team to conduct testing and contact tracing of people exposed to the coronavirus.

Cuomo announced Monday that New York State will deploy coronavirus assistance to the capital of Georgia as the state continues to experience an increase in COVID-19 cases.

“Anything we can do for you, for the city, we stand ready,” Cuomo said. “So I'll send a team down to Atlanta and they can work with your people and whatever we know and whatever we can share we will do."

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Bottoms expressed her gratitude to Cuomo, saying she appreacites "your offer to help and we certainly would be appreciative of that assistance."  In the virtual news conference, she mayor also recalled her personal experience with COVID-19.

“My family is an example of what's happening across this country,” Bottoms said. “We had an asymptomatic child in our home for eight days before we knew that that child was asymptomatic and, by that time, my husband and I had contracted COVID. Unnecessarily I would imagine, because we would have taken precautions to protect ourselves.”

RELATED: Atlanta Mayor Tests Positive For COVID-19

The assistance follows the division between Bottoms, who is a Democrat and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who is a Republican. The two leaders have begun publicly clashing in recent weeks over their responses to the pandemic.

MORE: Kemp Activates 1,000 National Guard After 'Dramatic Increase In Violent Crime' In Atlanta

Bottoms recently signed a mask mandate despite the governor’s decision to not legally require masks in public places in the state.

As of Tuesday, July 14, more than 120,000 confirmed cases have been reported in Georgia, including more than 3,000 deaths. 

Since COVID-19 numbers have increased, Bottoms has recommended Atlanta go back to phase one, a stay-at-home order. Kemp rejected the move and said it was “legally unenforceable.”

Atlanta Mayor @KeishaBottoms' action today is merely guidance - both non-binding and legally unenforceable. As clearly stated in my executive orders, no local action can be more or less restrictive, and that rule applies statewide. (1/3) https://t.co/3pQdB0pI70— Governor Brian P. Kemp (@GovKemp) July 10, 2020

New York on Monday recorded its lowest number of coronavirus-related hospitalizations since March. The number of daily cases and deaths have also declined.

RELATED: NYC Has Its First Day In Months With No COVID-19 Deaths