"ATLANTA — As businesses like hair salons and restaurants begin to reopen across Georgia, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms spoke with talk show host Tamron Hall on Monday about Gov. Brian Kemp’s order to start the first phase of reopening parts of the state.
Kemp announced last week that tattoo parlors, salons, barber shops, bowling alleys and a handful of other businesses could reopen Friday with strict social distancing measures in place. Then on Monday, Kemp allowed the reopening of restaurants for dine-in services, again with strict social distancing requirements.
Hall asked the mayor if she was tracking what businesses were reopening.
“We are not tracking them yet, but what I can say, anecdotally, I'm hearing from a lot of restaurant owners and business owners in the city who are saying they will not open yet,” Bottoms said.
Bottoms told Hall that she has formed an advisory council with small business owners and Fortune 500 companies to figure out how and when to reopen businesses once things get back to normal.
“I know one report, there was a hair salon that reportedly booked appointments a few weeks out as a result of the opening. Are you surprised by those who are deciding, even though it’s right now a minority of businesses, are you surprised by those who have decided it is worth the risk to reopen?” Hall asked Bottoms.
“When I saw that hair salon, it made my heart sink. Because we all know what that means. It means that you're going to have people close to each other, you're going to leave those hair salons, go back to their families and to their communities and potentially spread this virus. It is so surprising to me that people have such a disregard for the science and the data, especially when you look at the African American community, where there is a barbershop and hair salon on every single corner,” Bottoms said."
‘This is driven purely by economics’: Atlanta mayor talks about reopening with Tamron Hall
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