Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms Friday urged residents in her city to "just stay home" despite Gov. Brian Kemp's order to open bowling alleys, nail salons, tattoo studios, and other businesses, commenting that there is nothing they offer that is essential during the coronavirus pandemic.
"To open up our state today is irresponsible," Bottoms said on ABC's "Good Morning America." "Simply because we have hospital beds and we aren't at capacity doesn't mean that we need to work to fill them up."
President Donald Trump said Wednesday he disagrees with Kemp, but won't interfere. The mayor, a Democrat, noted she's surprised to agree with Trump, but added that while Kemp may supersede her authority as governor, he can't supersede her opinion on the matter.
"There is nothing essential about going into a bowling alley or getting a manicure in the middle of a pandemic," Bottoms said. "It's necessary that we continue to distance ourselves. To the extent that we've had any type of relief in the state, it's because we have been aggressive, especially in the metro Atlanta area and social distancing and asking people to stay home."
Bottoms said data shows that numbers are not going down, and that "thousands and thousands of people" are still testing positive for COVID-19.
"Our death rate is continuing to go up," she said. "To make an assumption that we are out of the woods is not based on anything other than a desire to open up businesses and what I believe is that there are some who are willing to sacrifice lives for the sake of the economy and that's unacceptable to me."
Steps have been taken in Atlanta to help businesses that are closed because of the virus, including setting up a fund for beauty and barber shops and making sure access to small business loans is available, Bottoms added.
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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