As the United States continues to battle with widespread coronavirus outbreaks, two local government leaders are facing off in what could be one of the biggest political highlights amid the global pandemic.
Georgia Governor Sues Atlanta Mayor
On Thursday, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said he will sue Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms due to the city's mask mandate that Kemp claims are in violation of Georgia's own emergency mandates.
The lawsuit comes amid an ongoing feud between Kemp, a Republican, and Bottoms, a Democrat, over the past few weeks. Bottoms introduced the mandatory mask order that will see violators getting fined or spending up to six months behind bars.
However, Kemp argued that Bottoms' mandate was not "legally enforceable" under Georgia's guidelines that keep smaller governments from releasing more prohibitive ordinances than what the governor's office has released.
Kemp said in a tweet that the lawsuit against Bottoms was "on behalf of the Atlanta business owners and hardworking employees" who were struggling amid the COVID-19 crisis.
Bottoms, on the other hand, responded in a tweet that while she and her family have become among the 106,000 people in the state who contracted the disease, he was sued by Kemp "for a mask mandate."
It is worth noting that Georgia has logged over 127,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases and over 3,000 fatalities since January. As of Thursday, the state is the 8th hardest-hit state in the country.
U.S. Logs Highest Single-Day Increase Since COVID-19 Outbreak
The U.S. on Thursday logged a shocking 71,135 new coronavirus cases, marking the highest daily log of new cases in the country since the outbreak started earlier this year. The national infection toll now stands at 3,570,037 cases.
The new record broke Tuesday's log of 67,791 confirmed infections, and health experts believe the numbers could rise further this week as more states reopen or lift anti-coronavirus measures.
Following Tuesday's record, multiple states took the initiative to out new mandates to help prevent further COVID-19 spreading. Among those states are Colorado, where Gov. Jared Polis announced that it is now mandatory to use face masks in public, in spaces where social distancing is difficult to practice.
Alabama and Montana also followed suit, with statewide mandates on the use of face coverings. Arkansas also announced a new ordinance that mandates people wear masks when they are around people who are not members of their household.
Florida and Texas Burst Death Toll Records
The two latest hot spots of growing COVID-19 outbreaks, Florida and Texas, on Thursday broke their own records for the statewide fatality toll.
In Texas, another 129 people lost their lives to the virus on Thursday, marking the second consecutive day that the state set a new record for the number of deaths linked to the novel coronavirus.
Florida, on the other hand, breached its earlier record following the confirmation that 156 people in the state succumbed to COVID-19. The previous record was set one week ago. The state now has a total of 315,775 confirmed cases and 4,677 deaths.
It remains to be seen how the local governments will respond to the spike in deaths linked to the virus as the United States looks to breach 3.7 million confirmed infections.
