ATL Standard

Gov. Brian Kemp recently criticized Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottom's decision to reinstate a mask mandate for all individuals while indoors.

The Republican governor ripped the Democratic mayor on Twitter, saying, "Instead of asking our dedicated men and women in uniform to enforce a mask mandate, Atlanta should focus on combatting violent crime and street racing."

Bottom responded to the governor on Twitter, saying, "What’s ridiculous is that his strategy w/ crime seems to be the same as his strategy w/ COVID, to pick a fight w/ me.  Vaccinations are down and crime and COVID are up across GA. He should stop trying to win an election by trashing Atlanta, the capital city of the state he leads."

The war of words came after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta last week issued new guidance recommending fully vaccinated people to wear a mask in public indoor settings in areas of substantial or high transmission. The directive came as COVID cases linked to the highly transmissible Delta variant increased across the country. 

The mandate in Atlanta requires "all persons in a public place, including private businesses and establishments, to wear a mask or a cloth face covering over their nose and mouth when indoors."

Kemp insisted on his Twitter page last week  that "Georgia will not lock down or impose statewide mask mandates." 

Georgia's Department of Public Health on Friday said the COVID-19 case rate had increased 204% over the last two weeks. New cases totaled 4,612 with hospitalizations increasing by 50%. Only 40% of Georgia residents are fully vaccinated.