Wednesday evening Georgia Governor Brian Kemp issued Executive Order 07.15.20 striking down any and all county and municipal masks orders in the state. Locally The Cities of Hinesville, Midway and Flemington had issued orders this past week. 

Per Kemp's new Executive Order, "Pursuant to Code section 38-3-28, other than orders issued to the Authority of Code Section 38-3-60 et seq., any state county or municipal law, order, ordinance, rule or regulation that requires persons to wear face coverings, masks, face shields or any other Personal Protective Equipment while in places of public accommodation or on public property are suspended to the extant that they are more restrictive than this Executive Order."

Savannah Mayor Van Johnson has publicly criticized Kemp's decision tweeting the following message, "It is officially official. Governor Kemp does not give a damn about us."

Johnson (D), was the first local official to issue a mask mandate.

The Courier is waiting to hear feedback from our local municipalities on the matter.

The portion of the Executive Order relating to local laws can be found on page 32 of the document below.