GOP Georgia Gov To Issue Statewide Lockdown Order

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports:

Gov. Brian Kemp on Wednesday said he is preparing a statewide shelter-in-place order across Georgia to try to curb the spread of the coronavirus, a turnabout after weeks of balking at taking more drastic steps to combat the pandemic.

The new rules, which he will issue Thursday, are set to run from Friday through April 13. He also said he would immediately sign an order that would close k-12 schools through the rest of the academic year.

The Republican faced mounting pressure from public health officials, local leaders and prominent politicians who warned that a failure to take more sweeping action would further strain Georgia’s health care system and lead to more deaths.