Kemp extends COVID-19 restrictions, public health emergency

Published 8:00 pm Thursday, October 1, 2020

ATLANTA — Gov. Brian Kemp extended the state’s COVID-19 restrictions on Wednesday, as the latest White House Coronavirus Task Force report has the state finally out of the “red zone” in its fight against the coronavirus.

In a new executive order, Kemp extended current restrictions on businesses and gatherings through Oct. 15. At the same time, he extended the public health state of emergency through Nov. 9.

Only minimal changes were made in the orders, including just one relaxed restriction for restaurants and bars. Now, employees may return to work once they have been symptom-free for 24 hours following a positive or suspected COVID-19 diagnosis. Previous executive orders required three days.

Kemp, a Republican, has now twice extended both executive orders with little to no flexing of restrictions.

While the Peach State is showing signs of improvement in the rate of new cases, the most recent White House Coronavirus Task Force report dated Sunday, obtained by the Center for Public Integrity, warns the state must “continue strong mitigation efforts statewide,” particularly in communities with colleges or universities.

The report puts Georgia, now deemed in the “orange zone,” 23rd in the nation for rate of new cases.

The Georgia Department of Public Health released updated data on Tuesday that noted positive improvements for the week Sept. 21-28 including a more than 30% decrease in the seven-day average of new cases. Since the state’s peak seven-day average case rate on July 24, the department said, there has been a nearly 70% decrease.

However, according to the White House report, the state’s death rate remained well above the national average. On Wednesday, Georgia surpassed 7,000 COVID-19-related deaths.

Kemp also extended the deadline for high school graduates to submit ACT or SAT scores to qualify for the Zell Miller and Hope scholarships until June 30, 2021.

Riley Bunch covers the Georgia Statehouse for CNHI’s newspapers and websites.