Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Monday ordered a number of restrictions on public activity across the state, but did not mandate a full “shelter in place” for the overall population that some of his counterparts have enacted.
In a briefing late Monday afternoon, Kemp said he was issuing an executive order limiting public gatherings to 10 or fewer people (unless they meet social distancing guidelines), ordering bars and nightclubs to be closed, and requiring medically fragile people to be quarantined for 14 days.
His latest executive order to combat Coronavirus, or COVID-19, begins at noon Tuesday and continues until noon on April 6.
The “shelter in place” order is for people who live in long-term care homes, those who are being treated for cancer, those with compromised immune systems and individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19.
The new measures, he said, are “intended to ensure the health and safety of Georgians across the state,” he said, reading from prepared remarks. “This fight is not over, but we are in this fight together.”
Kemp also announced that the state income tax filing deadline would be pushed back to July 15 to coincide with the delayed deadline to file federal returns.
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In recounting Monday’s updated statistics—772 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Georgia, including 79 in Cobb, and 25 deaths statewide—Kemp said the state would be taking more actions to conduct testing, order medical supplies and ramp up the work of health care providers.
A total of 23 test sites are operating across the state, including one at Jim Miller Park in Marietta. But only those with a referral from a medical provider, the elderly, health care providers and first responders can be tested at those locations.
Kemp said he has asked the U.S. Department of Health and Human services to provide another order of PPE—personal protective equipment—for health care professionals, and is directing the Georgia Emergency Management Agency to order more supplies.
To date, Kemp said, supplies sent to 142 hospitals in Georgia include 532,170 masks, 65,640 face shields, 640,600 surgical masks, 46,740 gowns, 635,000 gloves, and 64 pallets of general hospital supplies.
He said over the weekend that 268,200 N95 surgical masks were delivered to all of those 142 hospitals, and 30 ventilators were sent to hospitals in Dougherty and Floyd counties, which have been hard-hit with COVID-cases.
Kemp also is requesting from the U.S. Department of Defense that the Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta remain open to quarantine those with COVID-19 from metro Atlanta.
No broad ‘shelter in place’
A number of states and localities across the country have imposed “shelter in place” mandates that close all non-essential businesses, and allow citizens to go out only to buy food or in the case of an emergency.
Last week, Kemp said he didn’t want to that, or to order a broad mandate to quarantine or impose curfew.
On Monday, Democratic leaders in the Georgia House sent a letter urging him to issue a 14-day statewide shelter in place order (you can read it here), a request also made by Republican House Speaker David Ralston.
In his Monday briefing, Kemp didn’t refer to those requests.
In his new order, establishments or events with more than 10 people will be allowed only if they practice social distancing requirements of having at least six feet of space between individuals (supermarkets are not included in the order).
His order also gives the Georgia Department of Public Health the power to shut down any businesses, organizations or gathering places—including churches and other houses of worship—that don’t comply with the new restrictions.
“We are all part of the solution,” Kemp said. “If your friends, neighbors or local organizations are not complying, call them out. Or report them to us.”
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