Georgia’s GOP Senate Contenders Won’t Stand Up to Kemp’s “Reckless” and “Irresponsible” Order Forcing Georgia to Reopen

Public health officials decry Kemp’s order while Perdue, Loeffler, and Collins refuse to stand up for local communities and public safety in this crisis

ATLANTA — Following Governor* Brian Kemp’s “reckless” and “irresponsible” order forcing Georgia to reopen “even as public health experts warned he was…inviting a new wave of infections,” Georgia’s Republican Senate contenders refused to stand up for local communities or medical professionals who have denounced Kemp’s order as “a very big risk.”

Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler continued their steadfast support of Kemp and his “politically motivated” order, with Perdue promoting the governor’s announcement and Loeffler praising his order that “defies the warnings of many public health officials.” Congressman Doug Collins, meanwhile, refuses to stand up for public safety even as Kemp “said he expects the number of cases to continue to rise” despite moving to end protective measures.

Despite Kemp’s claims, new data shows “the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in Georgia and number of deaths…have been steadily increasing in the last month.” And a prominent model repeatedly cited by the White House “predicts that dozens of people will die each day in the coming week” while recommending that Georgia continue strict social distancing “until after June 15.” More worrisome: Georgia still remains near the bottom of the nation in test per capita as “experts say the state lacks the testing capacity needed to detect the true scope of the disease.”

“Once again, Georgia Republicans would rather play politics than protect the health and safety of Georgia families,” said Alex Floyd, spokesman for the Democratic Party of Georgia. “Despite warnings from public health experts about the enormous risk posed by Governor Brian Kemp’s dangerous order, Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler along with Congressman Doug Collins still refuse to stand up against this reckless plan that threatens vulnerable communities across the state and flies in the face of medical advice.”

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