Atlanta Mayor Announces Positive COVID Test Hours After Governor Declares State Of Emergency

Hours after Kemp declared a state of emergency, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced over Twitter that she has COVID-19.

COVID-19 has literally hit home. I have had NO symptoms and have tested positive.

— Keisha Lance Bottoms (@KeishaBottoms) July 6, 2020

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Georgia governor Brian Kemp (R) has declared a state of emergency and authorized the deployment of 1,000 National Guard troops due to a sharp increase in violent crime and property destruction in the city of Atlanta.

Five people were killed in shootings over the Fourth of July weekend, including an 8-year-old girl who was shot dead inside a car during a BLM protest. 30 more were wounded over the holiday weekend.

JUST IN: We just got these photos of 8-year-old Secoriea Turner, who was killed last night near the Wendy’s where Rayshard Brooks died: https://t.co/U2niKwoxXF pic.twitter.com/GI9zpSlbLl

— WSB-TV (@wsbtv) July 5, 2020

The National Guard troops will be dispatched to three locations in the city: The state Capitol, which has been the focus of protests over statues of segregationists and Civil War leaders; the Governor’s Mansion in Buckhead; and the recently-vandalized Department of Public Safety building in southeast Atlanta.

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The governor’s aides earlier Monday said his emergency powers grant him the authority to deploy Georgia National Guard troops to Atlanta’s streets. He took that step in late May, after widespread looting and violence, at Bottoms’ request. –AJC

“Peaceful protests were hijacked by criminals with a dangerous, destructive agenda. Now, innocent Georgians are being targeted, shot, and left for dead,” said Kemp. who threatened on Sunday to “take Action” if Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms couldn’t control the unrest, according to AJC. ‘

Georgia has seen violent protests, looting and violence since the deaths of George Floyd in Minneapolis, and Rayshard Brooks at an Atlanta drive-thru. In late May, rioters vandalized CNN’s headquarters, broke into the College Football Hall of Fame and looted it, and started fires throughout the city.