Atlanta city officials pleaded with residents to wear masks and practice social distancing ahead of Labor Day weekend, but not everyone got the memo.
Cellphone video posted online appeared to show throngs of mask-less people huddled together inside some of Atlanta’s most popular bars and strip clubs over the long weekend. Some were dancing, others were drinking. But very few appeared to be keeping their distance, despite local and state guidelines aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19.
The videos circulating online caught the eye of City Council President Felicia Moore, who called it “startling” that people aren’t taking the pandemic more seriously.
“If they were out doing all that partying this weekend, they should self-quarantine and they ought to get tested,” Moore said Wednesday. “In the nightclubs, they were packed in like sardines.”
Atlanta police said officers didn’t issue any citations or arrest anyone accused of violating Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms' latest executive order over the holiday. While police can enforce mask mandates on public streets and inside city-owned buildings, Moore said it’s up to business owners to ensure their patrons don’t spread the virus by gathering wall-to-wall inside nightclubs for the sake of a good time.
“It’s a big concern, and I would not be surprised to see the numbers go up again as they did over Memorial Day weekend and the Fourth of July,” she said, adding that most party-goers appeared to be between 18 and 29 years old, the age group seeing the sharpest increase in COVID-19 cases in recent months.
“Additionally, for the Black community which has been disproportionately affected during this pandemic, it was startling to witness our youth engaging in behaviors which may ultimately affect the health of their more vulnerable family members,” Moore said.
On Wednesday, the Georgia Department of Public Health confirmed 2,081 new coronavirus cases and 60 more deaths across the state. Georgia reached another grim milestone Sunday as the number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 surpassed 6,000, up from 5,000 on Aug. 22.
Because of its population, Fulton County has been particularly hard-hit during the pandemic, accounting for 25,861 of Georgia’s confirmed cases and at least 551 deaths so far.
“I get it. People are tired of being cooped up and isolated," Moore said. “And when these weekends come, they throw all caution to the wind and just go for it. But they don’t use precautions. I didn’t see anyone with face masks on.”
In addition to bar patrons and their families, Moore said she also worries about nightclub employees getting sick while working among the large crowds. Gov. Brian Kemp signed an executive order last month allowing cities to mandate the wearing of masks in public spaces, but local governments cannot require them inside private businesses.
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