Gov. Kemp asking any Georgians who went to Labor Day gatherings to get tested for COVID-19

ATLANTA — Gov. Brian Kemp wants to make sure we do not see a spike in coronavirus cases because of Labor Day.

Kemp told Channel 2′s Richard Elliot that he is urging Georgians to get tested for the virus if they took part in any Labor Day gatherings, including family barbecues.

Ahead of the holiday, Kemp toured the state reminding people to remain vigilant during the Labor Day weekend.

There is a fear that too many people didn’t and that’s why he’s asking them to go get tested.

Kemp said the new Department of Public Health COVID-19 numbers are trending down. But he worries those numbers could spike because of the holiday weekend.

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"I think that this thing that we need to do now if you were in those environments and you may have let your guard down a little while or you’re worried about that. Go ahead and get tested.

Kemp told Elliot that many testing sites are operating way below capacity. But that, he says, means it’s a perfect time to get a test.

“The wait times are down, the return of results is way down, and so I think that would be a good idea for people that may have been in that environment to keep up from experiencing another fight, spike,” Kemp said.

The Rev. Raphael Warnock, who was at a testing site Thursday, said he hopes Georgia does a better job getting a handle on the virus here.

“We certainly need more testing,” Warnock told Elliot. “I’m glad to see the call for more testing. I will be very interested to see what resources the governor and others will provide to make that happen.”

The state is currently reporting a total 289,123 cases and 6,204 deaths from COVID-19 as of Thursday. The 7-day average of cases is 1743.6. Georgia has conducted over 2.5 million COVID-19 tests with a 10.4% positive rate. The rolling 7-day average is 7.9% positive.

Gov. Kemp tours state to remind Georgians to ‘mask up’ for the Labor Day weekend Kemp said we all must stay vigilant to keep moving in the right direction amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cox Media Group