>>> MUCH OF AMERICA IS STARTING TO REOPEN RIGHT NOW THIS WEEK.
32 STATES OFFERING AT LEAST
PARTIAL WAYS FOR PEOPLE TO
RETURN TO LIFE AND WORK.
GROUND ZERO FOR ALL THIS MIGHT
BE GEORGIA, WHERE THE REPUBLICAN
GOVERNOR, KEMP, PUSHED THE STATE
TO REOPEN LAST WEEK, DRAWING
CRITICISM FROM PRESIDENT TRUMP,
WHO WAS CONTRADICTING HIS OWN
PASCALS TO REOPEN.
YOU CAN ALSO SEE MOVIE THEATERS
AND MALLS FILLING WITH PEOPLE.
THERE’S A VIDEO IN ATLANTA WHERE
PEOPLE ARE SETTING OFF FIREWORKS
AND WATCHING A STUNT DRIVING
EVENT.
EVENT. SO PEOPLE ARE LIVING.
MANY WERE ALSO WAITING IN LINE
FOR THE NEW JORDAN SNEAKERS AT
THIS ATLANTA MALL.
BUT MORE ACTIVITY OBVIOUSLY
BRINGS MORE RISK.
IN FACT, EXPOSURE TO THE VIRUS
IN GEORGIA HAS SPIKED 40% SINCE
THE GOVERNOR REOPENED THE STATE.
AND THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION HAS
BEEN RAISING THE U.S. DEATH
ESTIMATE TO NEARLY DOUBLE BY
JUNE.
JUNE. SO RIGHT NOW WE TURN TO AN
OFFICIAL IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS
DILEMMA.
DILEMMA. ATLANTA MAYOR KEISHA BOTTOMS,
WHO OPPOSES THE GOVERNOR’S
POLICY, WHILE ALSO STRESSING
THAT HE CONTINUES TO SEEK A
WORKING RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM.
I KNOW YOU’RE BUSY.
THANKS FOR MAKING TIME FOR US
TONIGHT.
TONIGHT. >> OH, THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.
>> SURE.
>> SURE. WHAT ARE YOU ADVISING YOUR
CONSTITUENTS, YOUR CITIZENS TO
DO IN YOUR CITY AS YOU ARE STILL
IN A BIT OF A MASH OVER POLICY
WITH THE GOVERNOR?
>> ARI, I’LL TELL YOU, I WAS SO
TAKEN ABACK THIS WEEKEND WHEN I
SAW SO MANY PEOPLE OUT THAT I
STOPPED FOR A MOMENT AND I ASKED
MY HUSBAND IN ALL SERIOUSNESS,
HAD I MISSED SOMETHING ABOUT
COVID-19, BECAUSE THERE WAS SO
MANY PEOPLE OUT.
I THOUGHT THAT MAYBE SOMETHING
HAD CHANGED, THAT MAYBE THERE
STILL WAS NOT A HIGHLY
CONTAGIOUS VIRUS THAT THOUSANDS
OF PEOPLE WERE DIEING FROM EACH
DAY.
DAY. AND THE REALITY IS, IN GEORGIA,
PEOPLE, A LOT OF PEOPLE DIDN’T
GET -- IT’S BUSINESS AS USUAL.
MANY PEOPLE HEARD WHAT THEY
WANTED TO HEAR AND I THINK THAT
WAS REFLECTED ACROSS THE
COUNTRY.
COUNTRY. BUT MY MESSAGE IS CONSISTENT.
I’M ENCOURAGING PEOPLE TO STAY
HOME.
HOME. LISTEN, I GET IT.
I HAVE AN 18-YEAR-OLD IN MY
HOUSE WHO IS GOING STIR CRAZY.
IT’S BEAUTIFUL IN GEORGIA RIGHT
NOW.
NOW. BUT THE REALITY IS THAT THIS IS
STILL A HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS VIRUS,
AND ESPECIALLY IN THE
AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY.
AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY. IT IS OFTEN DEADLY.
>> HMM.
>> HMM. I WANT TO PLAY A LITTLE OF
SOMETHING WE’VE BEEN DOING
THROUGHOUT OUR REPORTING, WHICH
IS LISTENING TO THE FRONTLINE
WORKERS.
WORKERS. YOU OVERSEE MANY OF THEM RUBBING
A CITY.
A CITY. TAKE A LISTEN.
>> AT THE PLACE WHERE I WORK,
THE DOCTORS, THE NURSES, THE
RESPIRATORY THERAPISTS, THE
PHARMACISTS, ET CETERA, WILL ALL
HAVE TO TAKE A PAY CUT BECAUSE
PEOPLE AREN’T DOING WHAT’S
RIGHT, AND THE PEOPLE THAT
AREN’T DOING THINGS THAT ARE
RIGHT ALL WORK IN WASHINGTON.
THERE IS NO REASON THAT THE
STATES WHO HAVE HAD THESE SUPER
SICK PEOPLE SHOULD HAVE TO
SUFFER.
SUFFER. WE’VE SUFFERED ENOUGH.
>> CURIOUS, YOUR RESPONSE?
>> YEAH, I THINK IT’S AN
INCREDIBLY SELFISH FOR THOSE OF
US WHO DON’T HAVE TO RISK OUR
LIVES EACH DAY TO PUT PEOPLE IN
A POSITION WHERE THEY’RE HAVING
TO RISK THEIR LIVES AND MAKE
SACRIFICES, WHETHER IT BE
ECONOMICALLY OR OTHERWISE.
WHEN WE LOOK AT OTHER COUNTRIES
AND HOW THEY HAVE GOTTEN TO THE
OTHER SIDE OF THIS, IT’S VERY
SIMPLE.
SIMPLE. THEY STAYED IN TO FLATTEN THE
CURVE.
CURVE. AND WE’RE NOWHERE NEAR THERE IN
GEORGIA.
GEORGIA. OUR NUMBERS EACH DAY ARE RUNNING
ROUGHLY BETWEEN 25 AND NEARLY
30% INCREASE BETWEEN THOSE
TESTING POSITIVE AND THOSE WHO
ARE DYING FROM SEVEN DAYS
PREVIOUSLY.
PREVIOUSLY. SO EVEN BY THE PRESIDENT’S OWN
STANDARDS, WE AREN’T THERE.
AND IT CONTINUES TO CONCERN ME
THAT WE ARE GOING DOWN WHAT I
FEEL TO BE A VERY RECKLESS PATH.
I HAVE SPOKEN WITH THE GOVERNOR.
WE AGREED TO DISAGREE ON THIS.
BUT I THINK THE FACT THAT WE ARE
TESTING THIS AND WE’LL WAIT AND
SEE IN TWO TO THREE WEEKS.
WE DON’T GET A DO-OVER WITH
THIS.
THIS. TEST THING MEANS WE’LL SEE IF
MORE PEOPLE GET SICK.