“Every family, every Georgian has been affected, obviously by COVID, the devastating effects it’s had,” said Georgia’s 83rd governor on Wednesday’s edition of “Closer Look.”
Kemp talked candidly with program host Rose Scott about the state’s ongoing response amid the deadly health crisis and the path forward to reaching herd immunity.
At the start of the conversation, when Scott asked Kemp about the reopening of Georgia’s economy in April of 2020, shortly after the pandemic was declared, Kemp said he sought out feedback from parties who were for and against the state’s reopening.
“The local government shouldn’t be able to take your economic viability away when there’s no data that shows there are problems”, said Kemp.
He further explained that a lot of people didn’t agree with his decision to reopen the state for business, but expressed that he wasn’t forcing businesses to reopen, but giving people options to support themselves and their families.
“In these kinds of times, you need leaders that will make tough decisions,” explained Kemp, who says he was pressured several times to shut down the state again as COVID cases rose during the second wave of the coronavirus.
During the conversation, Gov. Kemp and Scott went back and forth about Kemp’s assertion that the media scared people into not getting vaccinated.
He also talked about what he calls “pandemic politics,” backlash and criticism from former President Donald Trump and the lawsuit his administration filed against Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.
Kemp also expressed that he’s been on the frontlines advocating for Georgians to get vaccinated and stood by his decision not to sign an executive order to implement a universal mask mandate for Georgia schools, citing that districts should have local control.
Kemp said he’ll let voters and history be the judge when Scott asked him if he had any regrets about any of his decisions over the last 19 months.
“Our cases are going down again, our hospitalizations have dropped dramatically, and so, I feel like we are over this hump again, but we have to keep our foot on the gas, continue talking with people about getting vaccinated and getting the pandemic behind us,” said Kemp.
Saying that Georgia’s efforts to control COVID-19 have been successful, Gov. Brian Kemp, shown April 3, is lifting many remaining requirements for social distancing and masked employees at businesses. But public health experts fear another surge, possibly driven by more infectious variants of the virus.
Photo Credit Brynn Anderson
/ Associated Press
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp waits to speak during a coronavirus briefing at the Capitol Friday, July 17, 2020, in Atlanta. Kemp sued the city of Atlanta over its face-mask requirement just after President Donald Trump arrived in the city without wearing a mask, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said Friday.
Photo Credit John Bazemore
/ AP Photo
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, third from left, greets President Donald arrives at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, Wednesday, July 15. Kemp is pushing back on the latest report from the White House coronavirus task force that lists Georgia as a “red zone” for cases and testing.
Photo Credit Evan Vucci
/ AP Photo
Gov. Kemp and Georgia Department of Public Health Commissioner Kathleen Toomey speak at Emory about the latest COVID-19 data in Georgia on Dec,.22, 2020.
Photo Credit Emil Moffatt
/ WABE
To listen to the full conversation, click the audio player above.
