ATLANTA (AP) – Georgia’s governor warned Saturday that COVID-19 infections are increasing in the state as he signed an emergency declaration unlocking sweeping powers to fight the disease threat.
Republican Brian Kemp said the number of cases caused by the new coronavirus rose to 66 Saturday from 42 on Friday, which he said was the largest numerical increase in a 24-hour-period since Georgia detected its first case.
“In Bartow, Cobb and DeKalb counties, the number of cases doubled overnight,” Kemp said. “We have to remain vigilant, especially for our most vulnerable populations.”
Kemp later announced by Twitter that Georgia now has permission to transfer 31 Georgia residents who were aboard the Grand Princess cruise ship to their homes. The Georgia residents were among hundreds of cruise ship passengers who were flown to Dobbins Air Reserve Base in suburban Atlanta this week after the ship was unloaded in California.
There are nearly 500 passengers at Dobbins and 1,500 more at bases in California and Texas as of Saturday, said Suzanne Sellman, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. She wrote in an email to The Associated Press that Georgia and some other states are allowing residents to return home to complete their quarantines, while some states are requiring a negative test or a completed quarantine period before residents can return home.