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Trump Criticizes Georgia Governor for Decision to Reopen State

“I think it’s too soon,” said the president, who joined several mayors in questioning Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, who had said some businesses could resume on Friday.

Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia had long resisted statewide stay-at-home measures.Credit...Brynn Anderson/Associated Press

ATLANTA — President Trump on Wednesday criticized the decision of a political ally, Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia, to allow many businesses to reopen this week, saying the move was premature given the number of coronavirus cases in the state.

“I want him to do what he thinks is right, but I disagree with him on what he is doing,” Mr. Trump said at a White House briefing. “I think it’s too soon.”

Mr. Kemp, a Republican, announced on Monday that he had cleared the way for what he described as a measured process meant to bolster the economy, as Georgia, like the rest of the nation, grapples with the devastation brought by the pandemic.

Yet the decision was immediately assailed, as public health experts, the mayors of Georgia’s largest cities and others warned that it stood to have perilous consequences. Mayors said the decision had caught them off-guard and questioned its wisdom. Business owners who were otherwise eager to revive their livelihoods said they would hold off.

The governor’s plan gives permission to gyms, hair and nail salons, bowling alleys and tattoo parlors to reopen on Friday. Then, on Monday, restaurants are allowed to resume dine-in service, and movie theaters and other entertainment venues can reopen.

“I love those people that use all of those things — the spas, the beauty parlors, barbershops, tattoo parlors,” Mr. Trump said on Wednesday. “I love them. But they can wait a little bit longer, just a little bit — not much, because safety has to predominate.”

Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, also expressed concern. “I would tell him that he should be careful,” he said about Mr. Kemp at the White House briefing on Wednesday.

“I know that there is a desire to move ahead quickly,” he continued. “But going ahead and leapfrogging into phases where you should not be, I would advise him as a health official and as a physician not to do that.”

Mr. Kemp acknowledged speaking with Mr. Trump in a series of Twitter posts after the president’s briefing. And while he praised Mr. Trump for his “bold leadership and insight,” he gave no indication he was reconsidering his decision.

“Our next measured step is driven by data and guided by state public health officials,” he wrote.

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‘It’s Too Soon’: Trump Criticizes Opening of Georgia Businesses

President Trump said he disagreed with the Georgia governor’s move to reopen non-essential businesses, such as hair salons and bowling alleys.

I told the governor of Georgia, Brian Kemp, that I disagree strongly with his decision to open certain facilities which are in violation of the Phase 1 guidelines for the incredible people of Georgia. They’re incredible people. But I think spas and beauty salons and tattoo parlors and barber shops in Phase 1 — we’re going to have Phase 2 very soon — is just too soon. I think it’s too soon. And I love the people. I love those people that use all of those things: the spas and the beauty parlors and barbershops, tattoo parlors. I love them, but they can wait a little bit longer. Just a little bit, not much, because safety has to predominate. We have to have that. So, uh, I told the governor very simply that I disagree with his decision but he has to do what he thinks is right.

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President Trump said he disagreed with the Georgia governor’s move to reopen non-essential businesses, such as hair salons and bowling alleys.CreditCredit...Elijah Nouvelage/Reuters

Mr. Kemp said that businesses that choose to reopen this week were required to enforce social distancing rules, and that they should check employees’ temperatures for fevers and step up sanitation efforts.

The decision, he said, was “a small step forward and should be treated as such.”

Mr. Kemp was not alone in announcing plans to reopen. The governors of Tennessee, Ohio and Colorado have indicated they would not extend stay-at-home orders that expire next week.

In South Carolina, Gov. Henry McMaster, a Republican who put in place a stay-at-home order two weeks ago, reopened beaches and allowed some retailers to resume operating on Tuesday.

Mr. Kemp had been among the governors who resisted pursuing aggressive stay-at-home measures, citing Georgia’s economy, as most states introduced them. He relented, though, and issued a shelter-in-place order that went into effect on April 3, saying the threat posed by the virus had escalated to a level eclipsing his other concerns. Yet his order also weakened some local efforts, forcing the reopening of beaches that had been closed and pushing at least one city to consider legal action.

On Monday, Mr. Kemp told reporters he believed that the crisis had leveled off to a point where he felt comfortable reopening. But data indicates that the number of coronavirus cases continues to climb, and that the number of deaths is not projected to peak until early next month.

Georgia has more than 21,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, with 846 deaths reported as of Wednesday, according to state health data. Most of the cases have been clustered in the counties making up the Atlanta metropolitan area, yet the county with the most reported deaths was Dougherty County, in the southwest part of the state.

A correction was made on 
April 23, 2020

Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this article described incorrectly the South Carolina governor's plan to reopen the state. Restaurants remain closed and are not allowed to open next week.

How we handle corrections

Rick Rojas is a national correspondent covering the American South. He has been a staff reporter for The Times since 2014. More about Rick Rojas

A version of this article appears in print on  , Section A, Page 4 of the New York edition with the headline: Trump Chides Georgia Governor Over Reopening Too Soon. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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