Gov. Brian Kemp announced Wednesday that he is imposing a statewide shelter-in-place to begin tomorrow, April 3. And while he touched on some of the key aspects of the order — including keeping public K-12 schools out for the remainder of the year — the Governor said full details with the exceptions will be published on the state website today. The order runs through April 13.
Kemp did say, however, that he has no authority under the current state of emergency order to delay an election. Many state leaders, including House Speaker David Ralston, have been calling for Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to move the May 19 Primary into June.
“We will continue to do what it takes for the next few weeks to ensure the safety of Georgians,” said Kemp. “We are all in the fight together, and we have to hunker down and flatten this curve. It will be the hard work of the people at the state and local level that will help us win this fight.”
Kemp has been under pressure from some people to order a statewide shelter-in-place but has left much of the decision making up to county and city officials until this point. But Wednesday Kemp said new information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that people can spread the coronavirus before showing any symptoms was a “game-changer” for him.
“I know everyone wants to get back to normal, but we must overcome the obstacle in our way,” Kemp said. “Models from the experts show that the state’s hospitals will reach capacity on April 23 even with strict social distancing policies being followed.
“Now is the crunch time for us to lessen the peak,” Kemp added.
The Hill reported Tuesday that the United States has seen more than 4,800 recoveries out of the more than 144,000 cases. The report went on to state that the outbreak has seen more than 150,000 patients recover from infection across the globe as of Monday.
Kemp said the order will include some exemptions. While he did not elaborate, he said Georgians should not panic. “Grocery stores will be open, pharmacies will be open. I am asking everyone to stay home. But if you have to get out, do it in a smart way. Avoid other people, don’t congregate and wash your hands.”
The Governor said the state has seen a 15 percent increase in the number of domestic violence cases, adding that this is “disturbing and can’t be tolerated.” He also reported that Georgia has seen a decrease of reports of child abuse. “Educators are usually the frontline in this but they aren’t having that face to face time with the students right now. We must all remain vigilant and alert to this.”
Kemp said the Georgia National Guard is assisting staff at hospitals — specifically in Albany Ga, and long-term care facilities. As of noon Wednesday Georgia was reporting 4,638 cases in the state and 139 COVID-19 related deaths.
