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Atlanta Mayor Orders Masks To Be Worn In Public Spaces

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has signed an executive order requiring face coverings in public. She's shown here speaking on Capitol Hill in 2019.
Andrew Harnik
/
AP
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has signed an executive order requiring face coverings in public. She's shown here speaking on Capitol Hill in 2019.

Updated at 9:58 p.m. ET

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has signed an executive order on Wednesday mandating the use of face masks in public spaces. It's the latest Georgia city to test an order from Gov. Brian Kemp that bars local governments from setting their own public health policies.

"We've given a lot of thought on it, and we will be going forward with a mask ordinance in our city today," Bottoms told NPR member station WABE on Wednesday morning.

Her remarks come a day after Bottoms told ABC's Good Morning America that she asked Kemp to allow her to mandate masks in the city and he refused. Kemp has said he believes Georgians do not need mandates to follow best public health practices. On Wednesday, a spokesman for the governor declined to comment on the news.

Bottoms now says the city of Atlanta will move forward anyway. Her decision comes two days after announcing in a tweet that she tested positive for the coronavirus.

On a call with local elected officials Tuesday, Kemp continued to shy away from issuing a statewide mandate for face masks, even as Georgia surpassed 100,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19. He did say it was "fine" that local governments had differing opinions "on the appropriate response to this pandemic."

Last week, Savannah became the first city in Georgia to issue a requirement that people wear face masks in public to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The city of East Point and the combined government of Athens-Clarke County passed similar rules Tuesday.

Copyright 2020 WABE 90.1

Sam Whitehead is a reporter with GPB News.He has worked with “Here and Now,”NPR News, “State of the Re:Union,”WSKG News, andWRVO News. He also co-foundedWRFI Community Radio Newsin Ithaca, New York.He hasn’t won any awards yet.In his free time, he tries to become a better storyteller. He lives in Atlanta, Georgia.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

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