Georgia Governor Brian Kemp yesterday issued an executive order that overturns local mask-wearing requirements.

Kemp’s executive order says that “any state, county, or municipal law, order, ordinance, rule, or regulation that requires persons to wear face coverings, masks, face shields, or any other Personal Protective Equipment while in places of public accommodation or on public property are suspended to the extent that they are more restrictive than this Executive Order.”

Kemp, a Republican, issued the order despite evidence that masks are an effective tool in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. Wearing masks is one of several important steps people can take to limit the spread of coronavirus, among others, such as hand-washing and social distancing. Kemp acknowledges that, as his executive order says, “all residents and visitors of the State of Georgia are strongly encouraged to wear face coverings as practicable while outside their homes or place of residence, except when eating, drinking, or exercising outdoors.” Kemp also went on a tour of various cities to encourage mask wearing, but he has said, “we don’t need a government mandate to do the right thing.”

Kemp’s executive order attempts to void rules that “at least 15 local governments across the state had adopted even though Kemp had earlier said cities and counties had no power to order masks,” the Associated Press wrote. Kemp has declined to impose a statewide mandate for Georgia, but 26 US states and the District of Columbia are enforcing mask requirements, according to Axios.

Kemp’s ban on mask mandates puts him at odds with Atlanta, the state capital and most populous city in Georgia with over 500,000 people. Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, a Democrat, last week issued an executive order requiring masks in commercial spaces and public areas when social distancing is not feasible “in response to the rising number of COVID-19 infections.”

Atlanta will reportedly continue enforcing the mandate despite Kemp’s order. “The Mayor’s Order remains in effect, as science and data will continue to drive the City’s decisions. Masks save lives,” the mayor’s office told Newsweek today.

Other localities may also continue to enforce their rules. “I have been in regular communication with mayors in several other Georgia cities with mask requirements, and we wish for our local requirements to remain in place,” Athens-Clarke County Mayor Kelly Girtz told the Associated Press. “We strongly believe this is within our authority.”

[Update at 7:50pm ET: To enforce his executive order, Kemp today sued Mayor Bottoms and members of the Atlanta City Council in Superior Court of Fulton County. Bottoms criticized the lawsuit on Twitter, writing that “a better use of taxpayer money would be to expand testing and contact tracing.”]

“Local mask mandates are unenforceable”

Kemp spokesperson Candice Broce wrote on Twitter that “Previous executive orders—and now this order—state no local action can be more or less restrictive than ours. We have explained that local mask mandates are unenforceable. The Governor continues to strongly encourage Georgians to wear masks in public.”

Mayor Bottoms said on CNN yesterday that President Trump violated city law by not wearing a mask in Atlanta. “I am somehow not surprised that he disregarded our rules and regulations in this city,” she said.

Under the Atlanta rule, “penalties for violations could include a citation, or, in strict enforcement, an arrest,” 11Alive reported last week. “If convicted, the sentence could include up to six months in jail or a $1,000 fine.” While the Atlanta mask mandate can technically be punished with prison time, Bottoms said that “won’t happen to anyone,” leaving citations and fines as the enforcement mechanisms. Bottoms said, jokingly, that Trump would only get a “citation that sends him back to Washington, DC.”

Georgia, which has 10.6 million residents, has reported 127,834 COVID-19 cases, 3,091 deaths, 14,102 hospitalizations, and 2,702 ICU admissions.

“Kemp does not give a damn about us”

Kemp’s ban on local mask mandates angered Savannah Mayor Van Johnson, a Democrat. “It is officially official. Governor Kemp does not give a damn about us,” Johnson wrote on Twitter yesterday. “Every man and woman for himself/herself. Ignore the science and survive the best you can. In Savannah, we will continue to keep the faith and follow the science. Masks will continue to be available!”

Savannah, which has about 144,000 residents, became the first major city in Georgia to impose a mask mandate on July 1. “The Savannah Police Department has been out enforcing and handing out masks to people who are seen not wearing one,” WTOC reported at the time. Under the rule, people who refuse an offer of a mask can be fined $500.

There are also mask mandates in Athens-Clarke County, Avondale Estates, Brookhaven, College Park, Decatur, DeKalb County, Doraville, Dunwoody, East Point, Fairburn, South Fulton, and Union City.

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican, this week became the first governor of a US state to test positive for COVID-19. Stitt said on June 30 that he “will not consider or reconsider mandating masks. We believe in freedoms.”

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