Gov. Brian Kemp announced Wednesday that he will push for legislation that lets parents decide whether to send their kids to school in masks.
“As some school systems continue to ignore the science, concerned parents, and the wellbeing of students, in the coming days my office will be introducing legislation to give parents the final say on masking for their children,” his Twitter account said.
The latest turn in a conflict that has endured for much of the COVID-19 pandemic comes days after a blowup over masks in connection with this year’s gubernatorial campaign.
Stacey Abrams, Kemp’s Democratic challenger, chose to remove her mask for a photo with young children in a Decatur classroom. The children were wearing masks, as were adults in the background. Republicans, including Kemp, pounced on the issue after the image circulated online.
Kemp spokesman Tate Mitchell called it hypocritical. So did Kemp’s Republican primary challenger, David Perdue.
Abrams has criticized the governor for seeking to block Atlanta and other cities from imposing mask mandates. Her campaign called the attacks “pathetic, transparent and silly.” But both Abrams and the school deleted the tweet with the photo.
Kemp said at a news conference after his tweet that he believes “parents have the tools that they need to best take care of their children.”
The Perdue campaign called Kemp’s move a “desperate” reaction. Perdue released an ad on YouTube Tuesday that ends with the words “unmask our kids” over that picture of an unmasked Abrams in the classroom.
“Brian Kemp only does the right thing when we spell it out first,” Perdue said in a written statement. “Why didn’t Kemp stand up for parents’ rights two years ago when this pandemic began?”
This latest war of words over masks comes as infection counts fall in the schools.
Fourteen metro Atlanta school districts recorded nearly 79,000 COVID-19 cases so far this academic year. The highest count — more than 8,600 cases — was recorded in mid-January amid the omicron surge. The latest data reports show a 47% drop in cases since then, as of Feb. 4.
Staff writer Greg Bluestein contributed to this article
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