Georgia could become the new coronavirus hot spot, warned former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb.
“There’s increasing risk that Georgia could become a new epicenter of epidemic spread,” Gottlieb tweeted Friday. “There’s a window of opportunity for the State of Georgia, with its outbreak largely concentrated in one region for now, to get control of its infection and mitigate risk of a broader epidemic.”
The regions Gottlieb referred to are the counties in and surrounding Atlanta, which have experienced over 9,000 cases since the pandemic began.
Since the beginning of July, Georgia has averaged over 3,100 cases daily. That has increased to more than 3,500 in the last week.
The seven-day average of people testing positive has been above 5% since June 22 and above 10% for all but three days in July. In May, the World Health Organization advised governments to wait until the positivity rate had been 5% or lower for 14 days before reopening. The WHO initially set the goal at 10%.
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, a Democrat, is in a dispute over reopening with Republican Gov. Brian Kemp. Bottoms ordered a suspension of indoor services at restaurants and retailers a week ago, but Kemp said she does not have the authority to do that, as local orders cannot be more restrictive than state ones.
More recently, Bottoms defied Kemp’s order that prohibited cities and counties in Georgia from mandating the wearing of masks in public. Kemp has filed suit to stop her.
