Georgia Governor Brian Kemp on Friday urged everyone in his state to wear a mask for four weeks to halt the spread of the coronavirus but stood firm on banning state and local authorities from mandating the wearing of masks.
With the state experiencing a spike in COVID-19 infections and the country divided over expert medical advice to wear masks, the governor conceded that face coverings would help slow infections but said mandates were unenforceable and suggested they would hobble the economy.
"While we all agree that wearing a mask is effective, I'm confident that Georgians don't need a mandate to do the right thing.
I know that Georgians can rise to this challenge and they will," Kemp told a news conference where he urged everyone to wear a mask for at least four weeks.
He also urged Georgians to voluntarily maintain physical distancing, wash their hands frequently and heed his executive order, which also calls for those measures and bans gatherings of more than 50 people for the rest of July.
Kemp, a fellow Republican and supporter of President Donald Trump, issued an executive order on Wednesday suspending local regulations that require masks, and on Thursday sued the city of Atlanta to stop it from enforcing its mask mandate.
The coronavirus has infected more than 3.5 million Americans and killed nearly 140,000, both figures leading the world, and cases have spiked in many states including Georgia.
The country shattered a daily record on Thursday, reporting more than 77,000 new cases, according to a Reuters tally.
As the U.S. works to fight off the spread of COVID-19, it's also fighting off another trend.
