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AMNA NAWAZ: Georgia Governor
Brian Kemp's order has put
the issue of masks front and

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center in that state.

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With me now is Kelly Girtz. He
is a Democrat and the mayor of
Athens-Clarke County, Georgia,

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which moved to require
people to wear masks in
public earlier this month.

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Mayor Girtz, welcome to
the "NewsHour," and thanks
for making the time.

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I want to ask you about some
late news we have just gotten
about Governor Brian Kemp

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and the state attorney general
suing the Atlanta mayor, Keisha
Bottoms, and the City Council

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for their requirement for
public mask wearing. What
is your reaction to that?

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KELLY GIRTZ (D), Mayor
of Athens-Clarke County,
Georgia: Amna, this
has all been so deeply

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frustrating.

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We simply want to create a
platform for health and safety
for the local population. I have

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been in constant contact
with Mayor Bottoms and other
mayors throughout the state.

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And, in lieu of action on a
statewide basis, as we have seen
in other Republican-led states

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like Alabama and Arkansas,
we need to act as local boots
on the ground who are keeping

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people in our communities safe.

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We are going to continue with
our order in Athens-Clarke
County, as Mayor Bottoms has

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also indicated she is going to
do, and Mayor Davis in Augusta
and Mayor Johnson in Savannah,

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because we understand that,
as science has demonstrated
over the last many months, it

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is simply safer to have a
mask on for those around you.

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The droplet dispersement,
the aerosol dispersement
is diminished by use
of a mask. And so we're

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going to follow this.
And I have to say...

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AMNA NAWAZ: Mayor Girtz, let
me -- let me just ask you,
if I can. I apologize, sir,

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I know your time is limited.

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But even the head of Georgia's
Restaurant Association has
said it's confusing for people

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to have different rules
in different counties.
You need one set of
guidelines. Let businesses

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decide if they
should require masks.

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What do you say to that?

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KELLY GIRTZ: It's been
interesting, because
large and very small
retailers have said to

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me, we like a mask order,
because that sets a citywide or
a countywide standard, and so

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we know, from one block to
another, one vendor to another,
the public is going to have the

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same experience.

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We're also the flagship host for
the University of Georgia here
in the state. And just a couple

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of weeks ago, the
university system indicated
that every student,
faculty member and staff

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member was going to have to
wear a mask in interior spaces
at the University of Georgia

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and in all other public
universities in the state.

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And so what we want to do is be
able to provide the same solid
foundation on campus and off

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campus here in Athens.

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AMNA NAWAZ: Mayor
Girtz, let me ask you.

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Both your hospitals in
Athens were full yesterday.
You had to divert patients
to other facilities.

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Experts say you are not yet
at your peak. Do you have
what you need now to meet the

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moment and to handle
the influx of patients?

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KELLY GIRTZ: Unfortunately,
we don't have what we need.

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The hospitals are very nimble,
and they're able to open up
some overflow wards interior

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to their spaces. But it's taken
longer to get test kits here.
And it's taken much longer

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to get test results here.

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People call me every day here
in my office and say, I'm
feeling sick, I have come into

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contact with somebody who's
COVID-positive, and it's going
to take me five days to even

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get an appointment
to get a test.

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And then I'm hearing that
it's taking somewhere
between four days and
eight days to get results

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after that test. That's
antithetical to the
kind of things that
need to happen. I mean,

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I sit here in front of you,
and I wonder, can I get annexed
into Germany or at least

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North Carolina?

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AMNA NAWAZ: Mayor Girtz,
I should mention, as
you said, students are
coming back to campus

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at the University of
Georgia next month.

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With all this confusion over
which rule stands on the face
masks, in a matter of seconds,

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are you worried about
compliance and the virus
spiking in a few weeks?

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KELLY GIRTZ: Absolutely.

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Here we are in July, and we
haven't even had the student
population return. I wonder very

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much, where are we going to
be in September in October
and November, when more people

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are inside, and not
in outdoor spaces?

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AMNA NAWAZ: That is Mayor
Kelly Girtz of Athens-Clarke
County in Georgia.

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Thank you so much for your
time. Please stay safe.

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KELLY GIRTZ: Thank you, Amna.