With the average number of daily new coronavirus cases in the state quadrupling in the last month, the mayor of Savannah, Georgia has reimposed indoor mask mandates for the largest city along Georgia’s Atlantic coast as tourism season continues, the Associated Press reports.
In a Monday news conference, Savannah Mayor Van Johnson noted that the number of new cases in Chatham County have nearly tripled in the last two weeks, a “steep and alarming rise” in the spread of the coronavirus as the highly-transmissible delta variant sweeps across the country. Statewide, the number of new cases in Georgia are reported at the same rate as last October, just before the state experienced its second peak in coronavirus cases.
Johnson’s order applies to public places where people outside of the same household gather. It does not apply to school and universities, but Johnson said he hopes those institutions would also implement mask mandates.