Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has issued an executive order requiring masks to be worn in public places, including private businesses and establishments, while indoors in the City of Atlanta.
Bottoms said the order is in response to the rising number of COVID-19 infections, the impact of the Delta variant and new CDC guidance.
The CDC announced on July 27 that individuals should wear a mask indoors in public if in an area of substantial or high transmission. Both Fulton County and DeKalb County are currently designated as areas of substantial transmission, according to current CDC data.
Bottoms’ order comes as Gov. Brian Kemp said he would not impose a mask mandate or return to last year’s lockdown. He urged Georgians to get vaccinated as “quickly as possible.”