MACON, Ga. — On Tuesday, Macon-Bibb County commissioners voted 7 to 1 vote with majority of commissioner agreeing to ask governor Kemp to reconsider his executive order reopening some businesses in Georgia.
Elected leaders across the state say they were shocked after Governor Brian Kemp announced reopening plans in Georgia.
Many businesses are closed now, but that could change starting Friday. Macon-Bibb County Mayor Robert Reichert says the announcement came as a surprise.
"The Governor decided to do this on a statewide basis, 'one-size-fits-all,' so to speak. I thought that he was going to do this on a regional basis," said Reichert.
Reichert says he was expecting the decision to depend on each area's number of cases rather than a blanket statewide policy. He says the order puts people at risk of further spreading COVID-19.
"People can inadvertently be a carrier and go in and say, 'I'll have my hair done or my nails done,' not thinking that they are infected and they infect the proprietors that's opened his or her shop," said Reichert.
The mayor says he thinks people have mixed emotions about leaving their homes.
"Individuals are going to have to exercise discretion, but I understand where the governor is coming from. A lot of these proprietors are in severe financial distress," said Reichert.
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said she believed Macon-Bibb County was slow to react to the pandemic but Mayor Reichert disagrees and says he doesn't think the county is a hot spot for the virus. He hopes to keep it that way.
"As far as being slow, I think we were right on the heels of Atlanta with the order that we put in place," said Reichert.
Businesses like barbershops, gyms, and hair salons can open on Friday under Governor Kemp's order. Restaurant dine-in services can start on Monday if owners choose to do so.
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