Middle Georgians react to Gov. Kemp’s ‘Unmask Georgia Students’ Act

Some Macon residents are reacting to Governor Kemp's proposed "Unmask Georgia Students" Act that aims to remove mask mandates in public schools and allow parents to choose whether they want their child to wear a mask.

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Some Macon residents are reacting to Governor Kemp’s proposed “Unmask Georgia Students” Act that aims to remove mask mandates in public schools and allow parents to choose whether they want their child to wear a mask.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Brian Holmes, a Bibb County student’s father, said. “I mean I know everybody’s tired of wearing mask. I’m getting tired of wearing a mask, but that’s the only way we’re going to fight off this Covid. We should keep masks in place until we get rid of Covid.”

Kemp says the virus isn’t going to “just end and be gone forever,” pointing to the different variants that have already emerged.

“We’re gonna have to deal with this, but we got tools to deal with it now,” Gov. Kemp said. “This isn’t saying that parents can’t make the decision to mask their kids. It’s just giving parents an opt-out for those children that have parents or the kids themselves that are tired of wearing a mask.”

Dr. Edward Clark, the Chairman of Pediatrics at Beverly Knight Olson Children’s Hospital in Macon, says the hospital will continue to watch Covid case trends. He says he still recommends people wear masks while indoors.