Updated at 6:21 p.m. ET
Citing President Trump's guidelines for Opening Up America Again, released last week, Gov. Brian Kemp announced at a news conference Monday steps to reopen Georgia's economy, starting this Friday.
Kemp said"favorable data, enhanced testing and approval of our health care professionals" motivated him to reopen some businesses in the next week. Georgia is on track tomeet Phase 1 criteria as recommended by the White House's coronavirus task force, according to the governor. Kemp cited Department of Public Health reports that emergency room visits of people with flu-like symptoms are declining and that documented COVID-19 cases have flattened.
Employees at "gyms, fitness centers, bowling alleys, body art studios," as well as "barbers, cosmetologists, hair designers, nail care artists, estheticians, their respective schools & massage therapists," will be allowed to return to work on Friday but will have to operate under restrictions.
The mandatory conditions at the workplaces include social distancing, enhanced cleanings, screening workers for fevers and respiratory illness, wearing gloves and a mask if appropriate, moving workplaces 6 feet apart, staggering work shifts and, if possible, teleworking.
These particular businesses, Kemp said, have not been able to "undertake baseline operations" like inventory and payroll, unlike others.
On Monday, April 27, sit-down restaurants, theaters and private social clubs will be allowed to reopen, "subject to specific social distancing & sanitation mandates," according to the governor. More details on those mandates will be released in the coming days.
Kemp saidin a tweet that bars, nightclubs, amusement parks and performance venues will continue to stay closed under shelter-in-place orders.
According to Georgia Department of Public Health data, 60 more people died from the virus over the last weekend. For most Georgia residents, the state's shelter-in-place orders are set to expire on April 30.
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