Bottoms defends mask order: ‘This is not about politics, this is about people’

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) on Sunday defended a mandatory mask order, arguing that the requirement is not a political decision but is a necessary measure to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. 

“My responsibility as mayor of Atlanta is to make decisions on behalf of the people of Atlanta that will protect our citizens,” Bottoms said on CBS’s “Face the nation.” 

“This is not about politics, this is about people. It’s about the over 3,100 people who have died in this state, 130,000 who have tested positive. I, by the way, along with my husband and children, are among the number of people who tested positive,” she added. 

#COVID-19 in #Atlanta: “I’ve not actually seen any data or science that points to that,”@KeishaBottoms says of @GovKemp‘s suggestion that #BLM protest led to recent spikes in #coronavirus cases.

Calls out Kemp’s “blame game” as “most unusual” pic.twitter.com/ZCVoTK63vO

— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) July 19, 2020

Bottoms noted an unpublished report from the White House coronavirus task force, reported by the Center for Public Integrity, says Georgia is in the red zone for both cases and test positivity. The report recommends Georgia mandate face coverings statewide. 

“When I look at the unpublished report from the White House that says that Georgia is a red zone state, what that report says is that there are very clear guidelines we should follow, very clear metrics that we should follow. Face coverings are one,” Bottoms said. 

“Atlanta sits in two counties in this state, two of the highest counties for infection rates from COVID-19, “ she added. 

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) last week issued an order prohibiting local municipalities from mandating that masks be worn in public. 

Bottoms, and at least six other mayors in Georgia, have hit back at Kemp over the order. 

Georgia reported 4,689 new cases and 36 new deaths Saturday, bringing the state’s total to 139,87 cases and 3,168 deaths.