Georgia Governor Allows Gyms, Salons, and Bowling Alleys to Reopen Friday as Coronavirus Cases Climb

Emma Tucker of The Daily Beast wrote:

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp announced on Monday that gyms, hair salons, nail salons, barbershops, and bowling alleys will be allowed to reopen in the state on Friday—even as the number of cases of coronavirus in the state to continue to rise.

During an afternoon press conference, Kemp said that the statewide shelter-in-place order will expire on April 30, however he urged the “medically fragile” to continue to hunker down until May 13.

The announcement comes even as top health officials maintain that the best way to prevent further spread of the virus at this stage of the pandemic is to continue enforced social distancing.

As of Monday, Georgia has recorded over 18,301 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and at least 637 deaths, according to a Johns Hopkins University tracker.

“These are tough moments in our state and our nation. I hear the concerns of those that I’m honored to serve,” Kemp said. “I am confident that together we will emerge victorious from this war we have been fighting.”

The governor, who cited the pandemic’s heavy toll on the state’s economy, said that some restaurants and movie theaters can reopen on Monday as long as they adhere to social-distancing guidelines. He also gave the greenlight to churches to hold in-person services.

Kemp has faced criticism for his delayed response to the outbreak, finally issuing a shelter-in-place order weeks after the first reported infections in the state. He also claimed on April 2 that he had only just found out that the virus could be transmitted by asymptomatic carriers.

“Those individuals could have been infecting people before they ever felt bad, but we didn’t know that until the last 24 hours,” the governor said, as he announced the statewide order.

The governor’s revelation, which he called a “game-changer,” shocked health officials who had been warning for weeks of the risk of those who could spread the disease without exhibiting any symptoms.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta called his remarks “inexcusable” in an interview with CNN, adding, “We’ve known this for a long time. To say that we’ve just found out in the last 24 hours and that’s why we’re doing this, this is just not right.”