Kemp Urges Masks, Distancing For Labor Day: 'We've Got To Hunker Down'

Caption

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp visited Savannah as part of a statewide tour encouraging masks and social distancing ahead of Labor Day weekend.

Credit: Emily Jones/GPB News

Gov. Brian Kemp encouraged Georgians to wear masks, maintain distance and take other precautions against the coronavirus at several stops around the state Friday, ahead of the Labor Day holiday weekend.

“I fully realize that Georgians are very tired and ready to move on from the pandemic. I know that I am. And we are ready for a vaccine sooner rather than later,” Kemp said at a stop in Savannah. “But in light of that, we’ve got to hunker down and keep chopping.”

Kemp made a similar tour before the Fourth of July holiday weekend, encouraging mask use but declining to mandate masks statewide, even as local governments began to do so. Savannah’s mask mandate, the first in the state, went into effect on July 1. 

Georgia saw spikes in coronavirus cases after both Memorial Day and the Fourth of July. Kemp said “a lot’s changed” since those holidays.

“I think people are more aware now that the potential for spread after a holiday is more so than it was Memorial Day and certainly Fourth of July,” he said.

Despite the previous post-holiday spikes in cases, Kemp maintained his opposition to a statewide mask mandate. He compared it to mandating vaccines or AIDS medications.

“It doesn’t work very well,” he said. “We’re asking Georgians, and I trust them to do the right thing.”

The spread of COVID-19 has declined in parts of Georgia that have mandated masks. Savannah saw new daily infections drop by more than half since the local mandate went into effect, and average daily cases dropped sharply in Laurens County following a mask mandate there.

“The governor said himself, our numbers here are better than other places in the state. And you can draw that directly to the fact that Savannah had a mask ordinance before anybody else in the state,” said Savannah Mayor Van Johson after Friday’s news conference.

Johnson stressed that he and Kemp shared the same message for Labor Day: wear masks, maintain distance and stay vigilant.

Kemp originally opposed local mask ordinances as well as a statewide mandate. His COVID-19 executive orders barred local governments from imposing stricter rules than the state, and he began a legal battle seeking to strike down Atlanta’s mask order.

He has since walked back that stance, allowing local governments to impose mask mandates although they’re still blocked from enforcing mask use on private property or in businesses.

Kemp also touted some statewide improvements in COVID-19 numbers, including a drop in the percentage of tests that come back positive from 12.4% to 8.6%.

Experts say the positivity rate, considered a key metric of sufficient testing for the virus, should be at or below 5%.

State patrol officers will again be on Georgia’s beaches this holiday weekend to enforce social distancing, Kemp said. But he also emphasized the relative safety of outdoor activities.

“Our beaches, quite honestly, and our state parks and our recreational areas are a great place to be. It's outside. You know, if it's very crowded, you can wear your mask,” he said. “But if you can socially distance yourself, that's the best thing to do.”