Democrats in the Georgia House of Representatives are urging Gov. Brian Kemp to rescind his executive order allowing some businesses and restaurants to reopen later this week after having been closed because of the coronavirus pandemic.
House Minority Bob Trammell several other Democrats say the decision to reopen close-contact businesses such as massage therapy centers, nail salons, and tattoo shops is coming "too much too soon," reports The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“Combined with the state’s well-documented struggles with testing capacity, this premature executive order puts Georgians at risk and may very well wind up resulting in more prolonged restrictive measures in the future,” the Democrats said in a letter to Kemp.
The governor on Monday said he has been encouraged about reopening after numbers have been dropping at the state's emergency room for people with flu-like illnesses, and because of projections showing Georgia has passed its virus infection peak.
The executive order does not allow local governments from enforcing more strict limits, and some mayors are asking residents to ignore the rule.
Trammel and other Democrats said he should rethink the local rule provision so that local mayors and officials can protect their communities, and until testing capability is increased in the state's 159 counties.
“Making data-based decisions gives us our best path forward," they said in the letter, asking Kemp to wait "until we have a documented, consistent 14-day decline in the number of positive confirmed cases before taking the steps that you announced yesterday to relax restrictions that are working to save lives and slow the spread."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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