Many entrepreneurs in Georgia are worried Governor Brian Kemp’s plan to open up during a pandemic is too ambitious (Tami Chappell)

Atlanta (AFP) – The US state of Georgia takes a massive gamble Friday when it allows businesses like gyms and hair salons to reopen to ease a painful coronavirus lockdown — a move even President Donald Trump fears is too soon.

Not everyone in the Peach State is on board, with many entrepreneurs who are eligible to go back to business worried that Governor Brian Kemp’s plan to open up during a pandemic is too ambitious.

“This is an irresponsible move that is based solely on dollars over science,” Randy Adler, owner of Babs Midtown restaurant, told AFP.

His eatery is currently only open for take-out, and the 58-year-old winced at the potential risks tied to allowing sit-down service in the coming days.

“It is not the right thing to do,” he added. “We value our staff, we value our clientele, and we value the citizens of Georgia.”

The southeastern state’s bid to jumpstart thousands of teetering businesses is the most aggressive return-to-normalcy effort in the nation.

Kemp, a Republican, has given gyms, bowling alleys, tattoo parlors, hairdressers and nail salons the green light to open Friday — provided people wear masks and establishments check customers for symptoms.

Restaurants, theaters and private social clubs can open from Monday, providing social distancing and mask-wearing guidelines are in place.

But infections and deaths continue to rise in Georgia, and concern has surged that easing shelter-in-place orders too early could trigger new outbreaks.

– ‘Good to be open’ –

Downtown Atlanta, whose Democratic mayor has opposed Kemp’s decision, was nearly a ghost town Thursday.

Few vehicles were on the roads and a handful of pedestrians walked through normally crowded culinary, entertainment or service hubs.

That might change if eligible businesses begin welcoming customers.

Kay Kendrick, chair of the Georgia State Board of Cosmetology and Barbers, praised Kemp’s steps.

Most of her group’s 95,000 licensees “are independent contractors that have no other source of income,” she said this week in a statement.

For some Georgians, the order presents one of the biggest economic conundrums of their lives.

“For me financially, it’s good to be open,” said Jake Glazier, a 34-year-old bartender at G’s Midtown, after handing a cocktail through a window to a customer on the sidewalk.

He acknowledged Georgia’s “controversial” status as the first large state to ease restrictions, and expressed worry the move could help fuel the coronavirus’s spread.

Kemp has insisted he and authorities have taken a “methodical” approach and are putting the health and well-being of Georgians first as they allow a phased-in reopening of businesses.

That didn’t stop Trump, a crucial political benefactor, from “strongly” disagreeing with the governor over the order, even as the president praised other states’ more gradual efforts to emerge from under the pandemic’s shadow.

“I didn’t like to see spas opening, frankly,” Trump said Thursday in the second stern rebuke of Georgia’s reopen strategy in as many days.

“I wasn’t happy with it. And I wasn’t happy with Brian Kemp.”

A Georgia Republican congressman, Doug Collins, also voiced concern.

Trump and the governor “want the country open, the problem is how you do it,” Collins told Fox News. “It’s making people nervous.”

– ‘Life and death’ –

Realtor Michael Persons, 61, appeared torn by Kemp’s declaration.

“At first I was all for it,” Persons said on his front stoop standing under an American flag.

“There’s something to be said to gradually start getting back to our way of life.”

Persons noted that Kemp is not forcing anyone to open their stores and gyms, or get a new haircut.

But the more he thought about the move, “the more I thought it was a little bit premature,” he said.

Georgia’s coronavirus figures are far lower than those in New York, the US epicenter of the virus, but they are substantial.

The state has confirmed more than 21,880 cases as of Thursday, with 881 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins tally.

Flinging open Georgia’s economy now is certain to push those numbers up.

But many worry about the economic devastation of a prolonged closure.

A restaurant manager, who identified himself as Clint, was happy about Kemp’s order.

“None of these businesses will survive 90 days,” he warned.

“This isn’t about greed, this is about people that have their life savings tied up in their business,” Clint added. 

“This is life and death.”

Disclaimer: Validity of the above story is for 7 Days from original date of publishing. Source: AFP.