Thursday Governor Brian Kemp delivered an update on Georgia’s efforts in tackling the coronavirus pandemic.
He cited the COVID-19 Mapping Project, which declares Georgia has jumped from 43rd out of 54 states and territories to 29th in testing efforts.
“Out of twenty-three states with more than five million people, we are now 12th in per capita testing," Kemp said. "While I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished, there’s more we can do to realize our full potential and enhance health outcomes.”
The governor addressed the option of once again imposing statewide restrictions amid concerns about the number of COVID-19 infections possibly increasing in the wake of reopening the state.
“We’re going to continue to follow the data and the science behind this as we take our measured steps forward. I think I said at the last press conference that if we see the numbers turn in a different direction than we’d like to see that we’d take further action.”
Kemp said there are several factors being considered in his decision-making process.
“It’s important for our citizens to know we’re following a lot of things because we know there’s community spread,” according to Kemp. “Our goal in all of this, in the shelter-in-place, all the measures that we had, was to flatten the curve, build the hospital bed capacity and the infrastructure that we needed. It gave Homer time to get PPE supplies, ventilators and all those things.”
He urged Georgians to follow safety procedures including wearing masks, avoiding large gatherings and continuing social distancing measures. He also cautioned residents not to panic at model numbers.
Kemp was joined by representatives from Health Department, GEMA, Department of Insurance, Georgia National Guard and Augusta University.
