Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp lauded states deciding to end mask mandates and other pandemic safety protocols on Wednesday, saying he’s “glad the great state of Texas is joining us.”
Kemp commended Texas and Mississippi for revoking pandemic restrictions when asked about how his state would respond to the latest decision by Texas.
“We don’t have to do a whole lot because we never closed most parts of our economy in Georgia. We’re seeing that with our revenues. We never had a statewide mask mandate, we trusted people to do the right thing and to be part of a solution and not part of the problem,” Kemp said Wednesday on Fox News.
In Georgia, the Public Health State of Emergency expired Jan. 8 after it was renewed for the last time on Dec. 1, 2020.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced Tuesday that he will rescind the statewide mask mandate and allow all businesses to reopen at 100% capacity.
GOV. GREG ABBOTT ALLOWS TEXAS BUSINESSES TO REOPEN ‘100%’ AND ENDS MASK MANDATES
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves announced Tuesday that “it is time” for the state to lift all county mask mandates and allow businesses to begin operating at full capacity.
Kemp said a large bulk of Georgia’s economy has begun its rebound since the pandemic, aside from the state’s touring and travel industry.
“When you look at our manufacturing sector, IT, healthcare, construction, as I mentioned forestry, our agriculture economy is coming back, [and] we had a huge year at our seaport,” Kemp added on Wednesday. “We got a few limitations on a small sector businesses. We’re kind of looking at that now as we get to reaching herd immunity, continue to get more vaccine supply, so I’m glad the great state of Texas is joining us.”
Georgia has recorded 1,011,807 cases since the outset of the pandemic and 17,480 fatalities, according to Johns Hopkins University’s data. The state’s weekly case rate has fallen and most recently recorded 3,147 cases in the last seven-day period.
Georgia has also vaccinated 833,509, nearly 2% of its population.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky indicated that “now is not the time” to “relax” COVID-19 regulations.
President Biden criticized states rescinding mask orders, likening their decisions to “Neanderthal thinking.”
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“Masks make a difference,” Biden told reporters Wednesday before a bipartisan White House meeting on cancer. “The last thing, the last thing we need is Neanderthal thinking that in the meantime, everything’s fine, take off your mask, forget it.”
