The mayor of Cummings, Georgia has reversed course twice on a stay-at-home order, even as the state has more than 5,000 confirmed coronavirus cases.
The initial stay-at-home order went into effect on the morning of April 1, 2020, but at 3 a.m., the mayor rescinded the order in a city Facebook post saying:
"Effective immediately I have rescinded the social distancing order that took effect on the morning of April 1, 2020," Mayor Troy Brumbalow wrote on the city's Facebook account. "While the intent of the order was to protect the public from the spread of COVID-19, it is obvious that a large portion of our public doesn't want government mandating the recommendations of public health officials."
Brumbalow says the order forced him to swear in 150 extra police officers to make sure people stayed in compliance with the law. That decision, however, led to pushback from residents of the town which calls itself the "Gateway to Leisure Living."
"I was looking at a worst-case scenario caused by the pandemic as our police department has 18 officers. I can see that I didn't communicate our thoughts and intentions clearly enough. People reacted strongly on social media thinking we were becoming a police state. That was never the intent," Brumbalow said.
But later in the day, Brumbalow backtracked again, citing the death of his grandfather on Monday who he had been caring for. He said the rescindment was an "emotional snap judgement" and that "people are mad no matter what you do in this situation."
The mayor signed a new emergency order, without special policemen or fines. He just asked the citizens of Cumming to "keep 6' from each other."
Mayor Brumbalow reminds his constituents "I'm human and not perfect by any stretch."
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