Open America for business again!
End this shit show, NOW!!!!
Southern Republican governors who were among the last to institute shelter-at-home orders are now pushing to become the first to lift them. Tattoo parlors, movie theaters and nail salons in Georgia will begin opening up this week along with beaches, florists and shoe shops in South Carolina.
The announcements came Monday afternoon after Georgia Governor Brian Kemp spent the weekend talking to his fellow Republican governors in the South about how best to restart their economies in response to guidelines issued last week by the White House.
South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster said he was forming an “Accelerate South Carolina” task force to look at quickly and safely opening up the state’s economy.
“We must be ready to stomp on the gas when the green light comes up.”
Henry McMaster
Governor, South Carolina
Coming just four days after President Donald Trump issued the guidelines, the announcements raised questions about whether the states were moving too quickly. Dr. Deborah Birx, the U.S. State Department immunologist and one of Trump’s top medical advisers, said Monday evening that it was up to governors to determine whether they are meeting the criteria set by the White House last Thursday.
“We have asked every governor to follow the guidelines, just as we’ve asked every American to follow the guidelines…… But each of the governors can decide for themselves whether they’ve reached specific guidelines in specific areas.”
Dr. Deborah Birx
At a news briefing in Atlanta, Kemp said the state was opening “in the same way that we carefully closed” on April 1, which was about three weeks after many other states issued their shelter-at-home orders. He said the decision to allow the reopening of many businesses on Friday comes as new data suggest Georgia’s outbreak may have plateaued.
Kemp said Covid-19 emergencies had declined and that new diagnoses “appear to have flattened.” He also detailed efforts to expand testing and screening of potential infections, including a mobile app developed by Augusta University that will allow any Georgian to input their symptoms and get approval for a test if needed.
The reopened businesses will have to comply with social distancing and other measures. “I think our citizens are ready for this,” Kemp said. “People know what social distancing is.”
Southern States Push to Reopen With Economic Pressure Rising
Calamity Jane