Atlanta Mayor Rolls Back City's Reopening Plans Back to Phase 1 as Coronavirus Cases Surge
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is ordering residents to stay at home as she rolls back the city's reopening plans to Phase 1 amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Bottoms issued the order on Friday "in response to the alarming increase in COVID-19 cases in the state of Georgia," according to a press release from her office.
“Based upon the surge of COVID-19 cases and other data trends, pursuant to the recommendations of our Reopening Advisory Committee, Atlanta will return to Phase I of our reopening plan,” said Bottoms said in a statement. “Georgia reopened in a reckless manner and the people of our city and state are suffering the consequences.”
Under Phase 1, residents are asked to stay at home with the exception of essential trips. Restaurants are also asked to limit business to only delivery and to-go orders.
Non-essential city facilities and businesses are to remain closed under Phase 1. There will also be a moratorium on special event applications.
Atlanta eased restrictions for its residents in May when the city entered into the second phase of its five-phased reopening plans, permitting private gatherings of no more than 10 people with social distancing guidelines in place.
She later told MSNBC that she tested negative "about two weeks ago," but decided to get tested again after noticing that her husband was sleeping more than usual. She said they received positive test results on Monday.
"It's a shock because what I see with him is not out of the ordinary for seasonal allergies," Bottoms, who is reportedly on Joe Biden's shortlist of potential vice presidential running mates, said. "It leaves me for a loss of words because I think it speaks to how contagious this virus is, and we've taken all of the precautions that you can possibly take."
"This is startling for me because we've been so very careful," she said of her family. "Again, this is just a lesson to everyone that you have to take every single symptom seriously."
On Friday, the Georgia Department of Public Health reported 4,484 new coronavirus cases, with 35 deaths and 331 hospitalizations. There have been at least 111,211 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 2,965 deaths from coronavirus-related illnesses in the state as of July 10, the department said in a report.
Within the United States, more than 3,164,700 people have been infected with the coronavirus and at least 133,400 have died, according to a New York Times database.
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