Doraville is the latest metro Atlanta municipality to issue a “shelter in place” order amid the spread of coronavirus.
During a Thursday night meeting, the Doraville City Council voted to make law out of the plea Mayor Joseph Geierman made earlier in the week.
“The less physical contact we have with each other now, the more likely we are to slow the spread of the virus and prevent a medical catastrophe,” Geierman said in a statement.
The northern DeKalb County city had already declared a state of emergency, restricted restaurants to take-out and delivery service and temporarily shuttered close-contact businesses like nail salons, barber shops and gyms.
The new order mandates that all Doraville residents remain in their homes unless carrying out “essential” activities like buying groceries and medications or going to work.
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms issued a similar order earlier this week. Some of Doraville's counterparts in DeKalb County have done so as well, including Brookhaven and Decatur.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has urged people to stay at home, closed bars and night clubs and prohibited groups of 10 or more unless they can maintain appropriate personal distance.
But while many local governments have started to embrace stricter stay at home orders and urged Kemp to do the same statewide, he has thus far resisted.
“The most effective approach to dealing with this virus would be led by the state or federal government and would involve both strict regulations about sheltering in place as well as widespread testing,” Geierman said. “In the absence of that leadership, however, it is up to individual municipalities to pick up the slack and try to mitigate the spread of the virus as much as possible.”
As of Thursday night, Georgia had confirmed 1,643 total cases of coronavirus and 56 deaths.
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