GEIS-新闻详情

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp faces resistance over move to reopen economy

2020-04-21 00:00:00.0 美国有线电视-特朗普新闻原网页

(CNN)Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is running into resistance from mayors and businesses who fear a new wave of coronavirus infections as he seeks an early end to his state's shutdown.

Kemp, a Republican and staunch ally of President Donald Trump, on Monday announced Georgia would allow nail salons, massage therapists, bowling alleys and gyms to open Friday. In-person church services can resume. And restaurants and movie theaters can open Monday. His order also bars cities from imposing their own restrictions on businesses.

It's the most aggressive move yet to reopen a state's economy as Trump optimistically pushes for a May 1 end to some statewide lockdowns. It also came as a surprise to mayors and some members of Kemp's own coronavirus task force.

In Georgia, mayors are pushing back, some businesses are saying they'll keep their doors closed and even Trump allies are questioning whether Kemp is moving too quickly.

Analysis: Georgia's reopening is a high-stakes public health bet -- and will likely please Trump

South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, whose state is moving toward a more limited reopening, tweeted Tuesday: "I worry that our friends and neighbors in Georgia are going too fast too soon."

"We respect Georgia's right to determine its own fate, but we are all in this together," Graham, a Republican, said. "What happens in Georgia will impact us in South Carolina."

Kemp was among the last governors to sign a shelter-in-place order on April 2. He was also mocked for admitting on April 1 that he had only just learned that asymptomatic people could spread the coronavirus -- information that had been widely known for months.

Data collected by Johns Hopkins University shows that as of Tuesday, Georgia had seen 19,884 cases of coronavirus and had recorded 802 deaths resulting from the virus.

"In the same way that we carefully closed businesses and urged operations to end to mitigate the virus' spread, today we're announcing plans to incrementally and safely reopen sectors of our economy," Kemp told reporters Monday.

Mayors in Georgia are pushing back against Kemp's decision.

"I have searched my head and my heart on this and I am at a loss as to what the governor is basing this decision on," Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, a Democrat, told CNN.

She said she is considering legal options for a city that she said is "not out of the woods yet."

"You have to live to fight another day. And you have to be able to be amongst the living to be able to recover," she said.

Kelly Girtz, the Democratic mayor of Athens, told CNN he would "not in the least" recommend going to gyms, tattoo parlors or bowling alleys on Friday. Gritz said he first wanted to see a dramatic increase in coronavirus testing and a sustained downward trend in confirmed cases.