n addition to our normal news coverage, What Now Atlanta is tracking ways Atlanta’s businesses are adapting to the novel coronavirus and the challenges it brings to brick-and-mortars.
Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms Thursday told Atlanta City Council “we’ll stay in Phase II [Easing] for the foreseeable future” of the City’s five-phased reopening plan, drawn from the recommendations of the Mayor’s Advisory Council for Reopening Atlanta. Bottoms moved the City into Phase II in late-May.
The City’s reopening plan is superseded by that of Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp who as of June 1 has allowed nearly all of the state’s businesses to reopen. Kemp this week has been flying around Georgia “urging” its citizens to wear masks but is not mandating that they do so.
Savannah’s mayor in defiance of Kemp is requiring its citizens to wear masks, something Mayor Bottoms is watching closely, she said. Savannah’s order is likely not enforceable which is why Bottoms has not yet issued a similar mandate in Atlanta.
During Phase II—the “Easing” phase—the City proposed the following guidelines:
Individuals:
Stay home except for essential trips
Wear face coverings in public
Frequent hand washing
Social distancing
Small, private gatherings of no more than 10 people, with social distancing
Businesses/Non-Profits:
To-go and curbside pickups from restaurants and retail establishments
Continue practicing teleworking
Frequent cleaning of public and high touch areas
City Government:
Non-essential City facilities remain closed
Continue moratorium on special event applications
Continue communication with local and State authorities to monitor public health metrics
“In order to leave Phase II, two critical gate-keeping measures have been added for contact tracing and testing capacity,” according to an announcement made when the City first entered Phase II in May.
“The City of Atlanta will continue to Phase III after reaching and sustaining Phase II metrics. If there is a sustained increase in new COVID-19 cases or hospital or critical care capacity falls below 50 percent, the City will revert back to Phase 1.”
[Editor’s note: The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is rapidly evolving as is its effect on Atlanta, and the City’s businesses and its residents. Click here for What Now Atlanta’s ongoing coverage of the crisis. For guidance and updates on the pandemic, please visit the C.D.C. website.]
13 Responses
I don’t understand why Kemp won’t allow mayors to make the best decisions for their cities.
Is it a power play?
You really think Mayor Bottoms can make correct or the best decisions? Nothing in her track record especially recently suggests that. She thinks Wayne Williams was framed. That is how dumb she is.
Hmmm.
Given that time in history, she might not be wrong.
There’s no politician or political party that I can agree with 100% of the time.
Regarding C-19, I think she knows the situation in the COA, better than Kemp.
Kemp didn’t even know that C-19 could spread by asymptomatic people until months after the rest of the world knew. I think KLB goes by the medical consensus, and Kemp goes by politics.
Hopefully it isn’t the same medical consensus that told us COVID-19 is only spread by businesses being open and leisure activities and can’t be spread by protesters or protesting. I pretty much quit following the whole ordeal when those unbelievably stupid comments were made. Haven’t worn a mask since.
I’m not surprised by your opinion.
You do you…
Based off your dumb comments and obvious agenda, you’ll be fine because I’m sure people have social distanced from you for years
Hahaha, well played!
The idea that COVID-19 only spreads in churches, restaurants, bars, beaches, and independent stores and not riots, protests, WalMart or Target is insane. We have actual “scientist” and medical people who have suggested such. It defies all logic and science.
Mark, I think most of us can agree that all of those places you mentioned are places (large groups of people) that make one more vulnerable to
contracting C-19.
That’s why it’s important to follow the guidelines (masks, social distancing, etc) while in those situations. The problem is that many people feel it’s their right not to follow the guidelines– and it tends to be politically motivated.
As far as protests, and civil unrest, well that just happens when it happens. It doesn’t just happen on sunny days when everyone is healthy. I’m sure the protests have spread C-19– but those people chose to protest at the time because they felt it was an important enough issue that it couldn’t wait.
We went to Target (an essential business) today and 99% of the shoppers had masks on. Churches, bars, and beaches are not essential. If you’ve got to go to a house of worship to praise your lord, I kinda think you’re missing the point of spirituality.
I don’t go to church. The mental wrangling being used to not blame super spreaders at protests and riots is what I find ridiculous. Saying it is “important” doesn’t make it any less irresponsible than the guy who goes to Target without a mask on. You sound like a sane rational smart person I know deep down you know what I am saying is true and our medical experts who dance around this and wouldn’t even allow people doing contact tracing to ask if a COVID infected individual has been at a protest shows how laughable this whole issue is. The protesters and rioters made an absolute charade and caricature of COVID-19 and everything we had been told not to do but anyone who mentions this is shot down and told it’s the people going to an independent place of business who are really responsible for the spread. That’s a damn joke.
Since you have all the answers, explain why the Northeast hasn’t seen increases in cases since the protests began? They also had the largest protests in the country.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/07/03/us/george-floyd-protests-crowd-size.html
Doesn’t it though? Two people catch covid. One got it while doing something important, one while doing something un-important. I’d say one of those people is clearly acting less responsibly.
This is manufactured outrage. We’re not even doing contact tracing (how would you with hundreds of thousands of cases??). I looked up the story and it was based on healthcare workers asking whether patients had participated in any high risk activities lately instead of specifically asking whether they had participated in protests. Seems like a non-issue that got whipped up by right wing media in an (apparently successful) attempt to induce rage.
Why have we not reverted to Phase I?