City reacts after Kemp voids mask laws
♦ Rome mayor calls for voluntary action as Kemp sues Atlanta to halt enforcement.
No tickets had been issued as of the time when Gov. Brian Kemp voided a Rome ordinance requiring people to wear masks in public to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Kemp renewed orders late Wednesday to keep Georgia’s current social distancing and safety rules imposed through the end of July for businesses, schools and public gatherings.
The latest executive order also contains new language saying that any masking mandates put in place by city or county governments that go beyond the state’s voluntary measures are suspended.
He followed up Thursday by suing Atlanta to block the city’s enforcement of its mandate.
Rome Mayor Bill Collins said he accepts that the local mask ordinance was rendered “null and void” by Kemp’s order. But he still feels it is important to encourage people to wear masks
— for several reasons.
For starters they save lives, he said, and there’s also an economic reason — to avoid another shelter in place order that could be crippling to many local businesses.
And there’s a positive side to having passed an ordinance, Collins said, even if it is no longer enforceable.
“It led people to realize we were serious,” he said.
What Kemp’s order doesn’t do is void requirements to wear masks while at the Floyd County Jail or at Floyd County Superior Court, Sheriff Tim Burkhalter said.
And Rome officials said in a statement released Thursday that their employees will continue to wear face coverings when interacting with the public and social distancing is not feasible.
“The Rome City Commission calls upon Rome citizens to work together to help flatten the curve by wearing a face mask, washing hands frequently and maintaining a social distance of 6 feet; as also encouraged by the Georgia Department of Public Health and the governor’s office,” the statement read.
The lawsuit filed by Kemp and Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr marks an intense ratcheting up of a dispute between the governor and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.
Kemp has insisted on leaving masks as recommended but voluntary measures and has previously warned several Georgia mayors like Bottoms, who want local control over mandatory measures to help curb the virus’ spread.
Along with blocking Atlanta’s mask order, Kemp and Carr’s lawsuit asks a Fulton County Superior Court judge to prohibit any local orders that might be considered more restrictive than the governor’s.
That would include resuming limits on public gatherings to 10 persons instead of 50 and recent steps taken to reimpose a shelter-at-home order for city residents, according to the suit.
Additionally, the suit seeks to bar Bottoms from “issuing press releases, or making statements to the press, that she has the authority” to impose different measures than ordered by the governor.
“A better use of taxpayer money would be to expand testing and contact tracing,” Bottoms wrote on Twitter Thursday evening.
Savannah Mayor Van Johnson also objected to Kemp’s order. Johnson, who was first to impose a citywide mask mandate on July 1, wrote on Twitter late Wednesday night that “Governor Kemp does not give a damn about us.”
“In Savannah, we will continue to keep the faith and follow the science,” Johnson said. “Masks will continue to be available!”
The Rome ordinance was a civil ordinance rather than a criminal one; a person would not have been jailed for not wearing a mask but would have faced a small fine.
Collins said he spoke with Kemp and was encouraged to double down on keeping large groups of people from gathering and urging people to adopt masks and social distancing practices.
The Floyd County Commission also announced earlier this week they would be launching a marketing campaign to encourage residents to wear face coverings.
While a host of Georgia businesses have been allowed to reopen since May, they are still required to keep people separated from each other, maintain clean surfaces and send workers home if they show symptoms of the coronavirus.
A shelter-in-place order has been in effect since late March for Georgians in longterm care facilities and those with chronic medical conditions including lung disease, moderate to severe asthma, severe heart disease, compromised immune systems, severe obesity and diabetes.
Conventions, sports stadiums and performance venues were allowed to reopen July 1 under distancing, sanitizing and signage rules. But Kemp has suggested he could pull the plug on fall sports like football if people disregard wearing masks.