Decatur Mayor Patti Garrett said Tuesday night she was “surprised, disappointed” by Gov. Brian Kemp’s Monday order to begin reopening a number of the state’s businesses as early as Friday.
She wasn’t the only one. Garrett said that during a Tuesday afternoon conference call through the Georgia Municipal Association with 200 other mayors, the overriding sentiment was “a lot of confusion.”
“To my knowledge no one knew ahead of time [about Kemp’s plan],” Garrett said. “Nobody was given a heads up. With many of these businesses he wants to reopen, it’s hard to maintain social distancing.”
Kemp’s order states that among others gyms, barbershops, tattoo parlors and bowling alleys are allowed to open Friday, with restaurants and movie theaters reopening Monday. Reopened businesses will have to follow social distancing guidelines, screen workers for fever and respiratory illnesses, and take other steps to minimize the risk of transmitting the virus.
Garrett reiterated what she said during the April 20 city commission meeting, that Kemp’s decision doesn’t alter Decatur’s commitment to keeping government offices closed.
“I talked to several of our business owners today (April 21) who are eligible to reopen,” she said, “and they all said it’s much too soon. One business owner told me, ‘we won’t reopen because we have too much to lose.’ “
Kemp was among the last of the nation’s governors to impose statewide social distancing, issuing his shelter-in-place mandate on April 3. By then Decatur’s schools had already been closed three weeks and the city had issued three emergency orders beginning March 10. Now he is among the first to begin reopening businesses, although the shelter-at-home order remains in effect through the end of the month.
As of Monday afternoon there were 1,534 cases of COVID-19 in DeKalb County and 29 deaths. The DeKalb County Board of Health doesn’t break down those numbers by city.
“Right now we’re waiting on a definitive list of guidelines from the governor’s office to follow,” Garrett said. “There’s a lot of uncertainty about what specifics are required, like who will take the temperatures and how, and who will monitor social distancing.
“Small businesses are the backbone of our city,” she added. “If they choose to reopen we hope they will take into consideration what to do for sake of their employees, themselves and the general public. I realize the economic impact [of COVID-19] is unprecedented. But to my way of thinking, public health benefits have to be the most emphasized.”
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