“This whole conversation is a distraction to the health and well-being of everybody in our state,” Duncan said during an interview with CNN on Friday morning.
The Republican lieutenant governor said repeatedly that he wore face coverings regularly and encouraged everyone from his son to the average Georgian to do the same. He described his own decision to wear masks as “selfish,” but added that he believed companies were requiring them for safety reasons.
“Selfishly, I’m wearing a mask, you know, because I want to go to my kid’s graduation in a couple of weeks. I want to watch my middle son play high school football. I want my investments to be able to not struggle through a tough economy,” Duncan said.
“I think we continue to watch retailers and businesses all over the country mandate masks because they believe it’s in the best interest of their customers,” he said.
Though Duncan said he was “encouraged” by the “millions of Georgians” he observed wearing face coverings, he said he understood Kemp’s reluctance to issue a statewide mandate. Enforcing such a mandate posed difficulties for law enforcement, Duncan said, adding that he thought the issue boiled down to the duty each individual has in protecting their fellow citizens.
“We can mandate all we want, but I think it really comes down to personal responsibility,” Duncan said.
Duncan’s comments came less than 24 hours after Kemp, a Republican, announced a lawsuit aimed at blocking an executive order Bottoms, a Democrat, passed earlier this month that requires all people to wear face coverings while in public spaces in Atlanta. The lawsuit alleged the governor has the authority to shut down any city law that conflicts with those at the state level.
Kemp has resisted calls from many to implement a statewide face covering rule throughout the pandemic, a position Bottoms and several other politicians have repeatedly criticized as the number of COVID-19 cases in the state and throughout the country continue to climb.
By Friday, July 17, health officials reported a total of 131,275 cases and 3,104 deaths statewide since the pandemic began. Georgia, which was one of the first states to reopen after the pandemic caused businesses around the country to shut down, reported rising numbers of new cases in recent weeks, though it has not yet been identified by federal health officials as one of the country’s current hot spots.
As cases in states like California, Florida, Texas and Arizona surge, the U.S. began reporting record increases in new daily case numbers earlier this month, with nearly 3.6 million total confirmed by Friday, July 17.
In response to the rising case tallies, Republican and Democratic governors began introducing statewide mask mandates in an effort to prevent further spread of the virus. Though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended all Americans wear masks in early April, the issue quickly took on a political tone as President Donald Trump refused to wear one in most public settings. Even so, several governors in liberal, conservative and swing states have introduced some version of a mask requirement as they faced threats of rising case numbers.
Duncan did not disagree with Kemp’s stance on mask mandates or his recent lawsuit during the CNN interview, but he did appear to be stuck in the middle of the debate. The lieutenant governor said he worked well with Bottoms and hoped the leaders of Georgia and its largest city would find a way to compromise.
“My hope is that the governor and the mayor work together here to get through this and we flatten the curve and we get ourselves back to a productive, strong economy here in Georgia and continue to look for opportunities to lead on the big issues,” Duncan said.
“My appeal here is for everybody in Georgia—everybody in the country—when you leave your home, go put a mask on. Go be considerate. Let’s get through this hump, let’s let this be a defining moment of this society,” he said.
Bottoms, who tested positive for the virus earlier this month, told Newsweek she thought the money put toward the lawsuit would be better spent helping the state battle the pandemic.
“As of yesterday, 3,104 Georgians have died, and I and my family are amongst the 106K who have tested positive for COVID-19,” Bottoms said. “A better use of taxpayer money would be to expand testing and contact tracing. If being sued by the state is what it takes to save lives in Atlanta, then we will see them in court.”
This story has been updated with a statement from Atlanta Mayor Keisha Bottoms.
