Atlanta Mayor Requires Masking Indoors As Georgia COVID-19 Cases Spike

ATLANTA, GA — Masking is once again required in Atlanta indoor spaces, Atlanta officials announced early Tuesday afternoon.

Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms issued an executive order requiring everyone in public indoor spaces or private companies to wear a mask covering their nose and mouth, in keeping with the latest COVID-19 recommendations from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“The CDC has designated Fulton and DeKalb counties as areas of high transmission for the COVID-19 virus. Given this recent surge across the Atlanta area, and based upon the counsel from public health professionals, I am reinstating the citywide mask mandate," said Mayor Bottoms. “We are watching the data daily and will continue to engage experts for guidance on how best to provide for the safety and wellbeing of our communities."

The CDC on Monday announced that the omicron variant of the coronavirus, which was identified only lat last month in South Africa, has proportionately overtaken delta as the dominant strain of the virus in the U.S., including in southeastern states like Georgia. The agency considered both DeKalb and Fulton counties, in which Atlanta is predominantly situated, High Community Transmission counties, and recommended that “everyone should wear a mask in public, indoor settings.”

State public health officials showed that COVID-19 cases in the last two weeks reached nearly 30,000, more than double the amount in the same time frame in November.

Bottoms only recently lifted a months-long citywide mask mandate in November that caused strife with Gov. Brain Kemp’s office, who in July prohibited such requirements.