Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms on Tuesday issued an executive order reinstating a citywide indoor mask mandate, citing an increase in COVID-19 cases due to the omicron variant.
The order requires all people in public places — including private businesses — to wear a mask or a cloth face covering over the nose and mouth while indoors.
“The CDC has designated Fulton and DeKalb counties as areas of high transmission for the COVID-19 virus,” Bottoms said in a news release. “Given this recent surge across the Atlanta area, and based upon the counsel from public health professionals, I am reinstating the citywide mask mandate.”
“We are watching the data daily and will continue to engage experts for guidance on how best to provide for the safety and wellbeing of our communities,” she added.
The move comes exactly six weeks after Bottoms lifted the mask mandate, which had been in place since July 2020.
Anyone who violates the order and refuses to wear a mask after being warned by a city police officer may be fined $25 on the first offense and $50 on subsequent offenses, according to the order.
Bottoms’ order comes a day after her successor announced he tested positive for COVID-19. Atlanta Mayor-elect Andre Dickens said a rapid test showed he is positive but that he’s awaiting the results of a PCR test. He’s experiencing only mild symptoms at this point.
The number of patients hospitalized with COVID has risen nearly 50% in Georgia in the last month and the number of infections detected continues to accelerate.
Nearly 1,250 patients were hospitalized statewide Tuesday with the respiratory illness. That’s well below the record of roughly 6,000 that was reached in early September at the peak of Georgia’s fourth surge of virus cases. But it’s well above the recent low of 824 patients recorded on Nov. 22. Hospital officials in the state are expecting patient counts to rise with the omicron variant.
CDC officials said Monday that cases of the omicron variant now make up more than 90% of new infections in the Southeast, displacing the once-dominant delta variant.
Much about the omicron coronavirus variant remains unknown, including whether it causes more or less severe illness. Scientists say omicron spreads even easier than other coronavirus strains, including delta.
Early studies suggest the vaccinated will need a booster shot for the best chance at preventing an omicron infection. But even without the extra dose, experts say vaccination still should offer strong protection against severe illness and death.
