Savannah Mayor Van Johnson fired back at Gov. Brian Kemp Thursday in response to the governor’s new COVID-19 executive order that suspends city and county mask mandates.
Savannah was the first city in Georgia to adopt a mask mandate, despite a part of Kemp’s original order that prevented cities from enacting measures above and beyond statewide restrictions. The new order not only prohibits local governments from enacting such measures, it specifically names mask use and suspends any mask requirements currently in place.
Johnson didn’t mince words in his rebuttal of Kemp’s action.
“It is officially official. Governor Kemp does not give a damn about us,” Johnson said on Twitter. “Every man and woman for himself/herself. Ignore the science and survive the best you can.”
Johnson said Savannah will continue to follow science and will make masks available.
The dispute comes as Georgia reported 3,441 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 Thursday along with 244 new hospitalizations, 34 new ICU admissions and 13 more deaths.
According to the Georgia Department of Public Health, the state now has a total of 131,275 confirmed cases of COVID-19. A total of 3,104 people have died from coronavirus statewide.
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