‘Reckless.’ Island town mayor slams GA governor for reopening beaches the town closed
The mayor of Tybee Island slammed Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s decision to reopen beaches amid the coronavirus pandemic and stay-at-home orders.
Some communities in the state had already issued ordinances that shut down public access to their beaches. But the governor issued a statewide stay-at-home order Thursday that superseded these ordinances, meaning beaches were required to reopen, McClatchy News reported.
Additionally, Gov. Kemp’s order suspends the enforcement of any local orders.
Tybee Island Mayor Shirley Sessions issued a statement on Saturday calling the governor’s actions “reckless”
“As the Pentagon ordered 100,000 body bags to store the corpses of Americans killed by the coronavirus, Governor Brian Kemp dictated that Georgia beaches must reopen,” she wrote.
The governor tweeted photos of the island on Saturday, saying officials patrolling the beach reported no issues.
“Beachgoers are mostly locals and complying with social distancing orders,” he tweeted. “We will continue to monitor conditions.”
Sessions said in the statement that Tybee will not have beach access and that its parking lots will stay closed.
“Tybee City Council and I are devastated by the sudden directives and do not support his decisions,” the statement said. “The health of our residents, staff and visitors are being put at risk, and we will pursue legal avenues to overturn his reckless mandate.”
This story was originally published April 5, 2020 at 11:48 AM with the headline "‘Reckless.’ Island town mayor slams GA governor for reopening beaches the town closed."
