With Georgia’s confirmed cases of COVID-19 sitting at 31,509 and the death toll at 1,340, Gov. Brian Kemp didn’t rule out a reinstatement of his shelter-in-place order if there is a surge in cases.
Asked by a reporter during an afternoon media briefing at the State Capitol if he would reinstate shelter-in-place, Kemp said he would continue to follow the data on COVID-19. “If the numbers turn in a different direction, we’ll take further action,” he said, noting he was encouraged by the data he was receiving from health officials and the state’s ramped up ability to test and availability of hospital beds.
Kemp said he’s seen models that predicted 10,000 to 20,000 deaths in the state by August, but pronounced them wrong.
“Don’t get scared or panicked by the models,” Kemp said. “The more we test, the more positives we’re going to see due to community spread. The models are wrong, but useful as guides.”
The governor encouraged Georgians to continue wearing masks and avoiding large gatherings. Kemp began allowing businesses and restaurant dining rooms to reopen on April 24 and let the shelter-in-place order for most to expire on May 1.
Kemp said there the state had reached a record high for testing with more than 217,000 performed with Georgia rising to 29th in per capita testing out of the country’s states and territories. He said there were now 60 testing sites around Georgia.
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