Timeline of Georgia Government Actions Regarding Covid-19

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The ACLU of Georgia will be watching closely to make sure the government's response to the COVID- 19 pandemic is ​scientifically justified and no more intrusive on civil liberties than absolutely necessary.

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Timeline of Georgia Government Actions

February 28th:

March 14th:

  • The Governor declared a public health state of emergency in response to the Novel Coronavirus via Executive Order No. 03.14.20.01.

    • Official Code of Georgia Annotated § 38-3-51, grants the Governor the ability to declare certain types of state-level emergencies and it grants him emergency powers to address state of emergency.

  • The Governor authorized the Georgia Department of Defense to provide up to 2,000 National Guard troops to be called for State Active Duty via Executive Order No. 03.14.20.02.

March 16th:

  • The Governor closed all public K-12 and post-secondary schools in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The closure was initially set to last from March 18, 2020 to March 31, 2020. This action was taken via Executive Order No. 03.16.20.01.

March 20th:

  • The Governor transferred $19,552,646 from the Governor’s Emergency Fund to assist the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency in their efforts to combat COVID-19. This action was taken via Executive Order No. 03.20.20.01.

March 23rd:

  • The Governor issued his first shelter in place order during the COVID-19 pandemic. This shelter in place order was issued via Executive Order No. 03.23.20.01, applied to vulnerable populations, and was set to last from March 24, 2020 to April 6, 2020.

March 26th:

March 30th:

  • The Governor issued Executive Order No. 03.30.20.01 to transfer $35 million from the Governor’s Emergency Fund to the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency.

April 1st:

April 2nd:

  • The Governor issued a state-wide shelter in place order to last from April 3rd through April 13th. This action was taken via Executive Order no. 04.02.20.01.

    • This shelter in place order overruled shelter in place orders issued by individual county and city governments.

April 3rd:

April 8th:

April 13th:

  • The Governor signed Executive Order No. 04.13.20.02 to suspend Georgia’s anti-masking statute.

    • Under Georgia law, specifically O.C.G.A § 16-11-38, it is a misdemeanor offense to wear a “mask, hood, or device by which any portion of the face is so hidden, concealed, or covered as to conceal the identity of the wearer.” This particular state law was first codified in response to the prevalence of the Ku Klux Klan in Georgia.

    • As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance called for the use of masks to help slow the spread of COVID-19, the anti-masking statute created concern amongst government officials, law enforcement, scientists and public health experts, and residents of Georgia.

April 23rd:

  • The Governor issued Executive Order No. 04.23.20.02 to allow for certain businesses to re-open, including dine in restaurants, gyms, nail salons, and tattoo parlors.

April 30th:

  • The Governor extended the public health state of emergency until June 12, 2020. This action was taken via Executive Order No. 04.30.20.01.

  • The Georgia State Legislature announced that they would resume in-person committee meetings on May 19th.

  • The Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives announced June 11th as the tentative date to resume the 2020 legislative session.

May 1st:

  • The Chairs of the House and Senate budget committees and the Director of the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget asked for all state agencies to cut their 2021 budgets by 14 percent.

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