Georgia’s governor and the mayor of its largest city accused each other of playing politics Friday amid an escalating fight over face masks intended to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.
The battle over masks in a state with rapidly rising cases of COVID-19 erupted into a public fight as Atlanta and more than a dozen other cities and counties defied Republican Gov. Brian Kemp and issued local orders requiring that masks be worn in public. The dispute ratched up several notches this week, leading to tough talk from both the governor and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms on Friday. Bottoms accused President Donald Trump of violating the city’s mask requirement during a visit to the city this week.