A recent study shows Georgia is among the states with the least amount of limitations in place during the pandemic. The personal finance website, WalletHub released its rankings for the States with the Fewest Coronavirus Restrictions. With 1 being the fewest and 50 the most; Georgia was number 10 on that list.
WalletHub studied 17 factors, including requiring face masks, reopening non-essential businesses, and working from home requirements. Georgia was last among states in requiring workplace temperature screenings and providing guidance on customer health checks at restaurants. The state also fared poorly when it came to requiring face masks in public and reopening non-essential businesses. Analyst Jill Gonzalez says those restrictions should be implemented.
“States should strictly enforce their COVID-19 restrictions because otherwise there is no incentive for people to follow the rules. If there are no consequences for disobeying a state's mask mandate, for example, people will be more likely to try to enter crowded areas without masks, which in turn will contribute to the spread of the virus,” said Gonzalez. “Fines are a good deterrent to make sure Americans follow COVID-19 restrictions, and enforcement will also minimize the need for citizens to play the police.”
She also cautions states should reevaluate their restrictions in case of post-Labor Day surges.
“It may be necessary to reinstitute lockdowns in some places at a micro level, in small communities that are experiencing especially high death and hospitalization rates.”
All 50 states and Washington D.C. were included. Hawaii has the most restrictions in place, while South Dakota had the fewest.
For more information, visit WalletHub.com.
