Georgia confirms 1K new COVID-19 cases in 24 hours

The state's lockdown orders have been lifted for some businesses as cases continue to rise

The coronavirus has not peaked in Georgia as the state verified 1,000 new cases in the past 24 hours.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that on Friday, the Georgia Department of Public Health confirmed an additional 1,000 cases of the new coronavirus in the past 24 hours, bringing the state’s total infections above 27,000. Just the day before, there were over 26,000 confirmed cases.

Infections have continued to climb in the aftermath of Gov. Brian Kemp re-opening the state after more than a month of a stay at home order. He loosened restrictions on travel, business, and other activities but social distancing requirements are still in place until May 13. A separate shelter in place order for the elderly and medically fragile is set to expire on June 12.

READ MORE: Georgia leaders say reopening state is ‘attack’ on Black people

“I want to thank the people of our great state who heeded public health advice, afforded us time to bolster our healthcare infrastructure, and flattened the curve,” Kemp said in announcing the next phase of virus response.  “We were successful in these efforts, but the fight is far from over.”

READ MORE: Georgia suspends road test requirements for driver’s licenses

Kemp’s decision to reopen the state was controversial even before the increase in cases. Many have weighed in to declare that it was too soon after the initial quarantine order in April. Black leaders stated that it was an “attack” on the community as barbershops, tattoo parlors, bowling alleys, and nail salons are places frequented by people of color.

The Rev. Jamal Bryant, senior pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia declared in a Facebook Live that Kemp’s decision was motivated by greed. He claimed Kemp’s disregard for Black lives was “leaving us to the slaughter” in the video that’s been seen more than 1 million times.

“They understand diabolically that African Americans are prone to do spending,” Bryant said. “To stimulate the income, they gotta make ‘negroes’ spend money, and they’re banking on us not spending it with ourselves.”

READ MORE: More than 80 percent of COVID-19 patients in Georgia were Black

Derrick Johnson, president of the NAACP, wondered if Kemp even cared about what his quick reversal would do to his Black constituents.

“I wonder if he is putting profit over people, and that if that is the result of a lack of empathy because of the disparate impact on African-American people and Latinos,” Johnson said.

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