White House: GA Coronavirus Outbreak Looms Without Restrictions

GEORGIA — As coronavirus continue to rise in Georgia, a report from the White House Coronavirus Task Force says if Georgia doesn't implement more restrictions, a widespread outbreak could happen soon. Among the precautions needed is a statewide mask mandate, experts said.

Last month, Gov. Brian Kemp's office filed a lawsuit seeking to ban Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottom's mask mandate. The announcement followed the mayor's news conference in which she said publicly that her order was "enforceable."

"This lawsuit is on behalf of the Atlanta business owners and their hardworking employees who are struggling to survive during these difficult times," Kemp tweeted.

Then on Thursday, Kemp announced that he will ask the attorney general to withdraw the lawsuit he filed against Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and the city council.

Kemp said Thursday that during negotiations, the mayor agreed to back down on the Phase 1 rollback, but would not roll back her mask mandate.

Kemp said because of the stalemate with Bottoms he will address the mask mandate issue in a new Executive Order after his current order expires on Saturday.

The Georgia Department of Public Health reported a total of 231,895 confirmed cases of COVID-19 at 2:50 p.m. Friday. That's 3,320 more than was reported at the same time Thursday.

Georgia also reported 4,573 deaths so far from COVID-19, 35 more than reported Thursday. In addition, the state reported 21,818 hospitalizations — 237 more than the day before — and 3,999 total admissions to intensive care units.

No information is available from Georgia about how many patients have recovered.

Earlier this week, Georgia set a new record for the highest single-day death toll from the coronavirus with 125 new deaths, the Department of Public Health reported.

Now, a report from Aug. 9 containing the White House Coronavirus Task Force recommendations for Georgia was released to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The report suggests Georgia's current restrictions are not enough to slow the spread of the coronavirus, and instead that the state will see “widespread and expanding community viral spread," the paper reported. The report also says there needs to be a statewide mask mandate, businesses including gyms and bars need to close in high-risk counties, restaurants should return to take-out food, groups should be limited to 10 people, and testing should be increased.

Counties in or near metro Atlanta continue to have the highest number of positive test results, with Fulton County continuing to lead the state.

• Fulton County: 21,601 cases
• Gwinnett County: 21,175 cases
• DeKalb County: 14,746 cases
• Cobb County: 14,690 cases
• Hall County: 6,420 cases

Counties in or near metro Atlanta also continue to have the most deaths from COVID-19. The lone exception is Dougherty County, the site of Georgia's first major outbreak.

• Fulton County: 463 deaths
• Cobb County: 334 deaths
• Gwinnett County: 283 deaths
• DeKalb County: 254 deaths
• Dougherty County: 172 deaths

All Georgia statistics are available on the state's COVID-19 website.

Globally, more than 21 million people have been infected by the coronavirus, and more than 761,000 people have died, Johns Hopkins University reported Friday.

In the United States, more than 5.2 million people have been infected and more than 167,000 people have died from COVID-19 as of Friday. The U.S. has only about 4 percent of the world's population but more confirmed cases and deaths than any other country.

Related:

• Kemp To Issue Executive Order After Negotiations With ATL Mayor
• Gov. Kemp's Office Files Lawsuit To Block Mayor's Mask Mandate
• Gov. Kemp And Mayor Bottoms Hearing Canceled Twice, Judges Recuse