Coronavirus: Cumming Rescinds Social Distancing Order

CUMMING, GA — A few hours after the City of Cumming's social distancing ordinance went into effect, Mayor Troy Brumbalow rescinded the order.

The social distancing order went into effect at midnight April 1. It initially required people to stay 6 feet from each other, and that the city could swear in up to 150 "special policemen."

“The ultimate goal is of course to stop the spread of this virus," Brumbalow said in a statement reported by the Forsyth County News. "My goal is to stop the spread of this at the roots, which is person-to-person contact. While some municipalities are issuing shelter-in-place orders, these orders still allow for essential businesses to operate, which still allows for the spread of COVID-19 if people are not practicing proper social distancing measures.

“For example, individuals can just as easily spread the virus by going to the grocery store or pharmacy as they can by having social gatherings if they are not properly spaced from other shoppers and taking appropriate actions such as frequent hand-washing.”

However, the portion mentioning the city's ability to swear in up to 150 "special policemen," is what caused public outcry.

The City of Cumming Police Department would have been able to enforce the special order, and "the city could appoint some residents as 'special policemen' to help with enforcement," the Forsyth County News reported. If violated, a fine of up to $1,000 or 180 days in jail were threatened.

But just three hours later, Brumbalow rescinded the emergency management order. Brumbalow took to Facebook Wednesday afternoon to explain what happened:

I want to clarify the past 24 hours. First by explaining my mindset. Over the past several weeks I have been caring for my dying grandpa at his home with hospice help. He died on Monday. The next day I signed an order to enforce social distancing that had provisions people didn't like. At 3:00 am this morning I rescinded that order. That was an emotional snap judgement. People are mad at you no matter what you do in this situation. I'm grieving and crying over a man that I loved dearly and have to bury today. I say all of this not out of pity but as an explanation. I'm human and not perfect by any stretch.

I have signed a new emergency order to replace the first one. There is no special policemen. There is no fine. In short, it says "keep 6' from everybody else" and our uniformed officers will be reminding people of that.

Social media can be good and very bad. Local officials do it for the community. It's not a job that pays the bills. Thank you to all my supporters and to my critics I say "I love you too". Do I wish I could rewind the past 24 hours? Absolutely but I have learned from it and will move forward. All I have or ever will care about is the people in the City of Cumming.

After rescinding the order, Brumbalow said the intent was to protect the public from the spread of COVID-19.

"It is obvious that a large portion of our public doesn't want government mandating the recommendations of public health officials," he wrote. "A huge sticking point of the order was the appointment of special policemen to help enforce the order. Under the city charter, the mayor can appoint special policemen during times of emergency. I said in our press release that I would swear in up to 150 policemen. I was looking at the worst case scenario caused by the pandemic as our police department has 18 officers. I can see that I didn't communicate our thoughts and intentions clearly enough. People reacted strongly on social media thinking we were becoming a police state. That was never the intent. While I didn't write the press release, I approved it and take full responsibility.

"Furthermore, the penalty was a maximum of $1,000 and/or 180 days in jail. Many people don't speed for fear of the fine. We were hopeful that this would cause people to really think about social distancing. Our officers would much prefer to educate than write a citation for this. I spoke to the manager of one of our big chain stores on Tuesday about their long lines to get into their store because they were limiting the number of patrons inside. This caused a distancing problem outside, and they couldn't offer a remedy. We couldn't fix the problem without an order that had an enforceable offense. While I think the intent of the order was for the health of our citizens, the delivery was bad. I own that and take full responsibility.

"While I'm the mayor, I don't consider myself a politician. I can't answer a question without giving an answer. I'm plain-spoken, love this community and can admit when I'm wrong.
To that end, there is no longer a social distancing order in the city. Please keep a safe distance, wash your hands and be mindful of everyone else."

Earlier that day, the city approved an emergency management order which suspends all on-premises consumption of food at restaurants, delis, bars and all other eating establishments within the city limits of the City of Cumming, beginning April 1 until the city makes a subsequent order.

Under the order, all food-service establishments within the Cumming city limits must cease all dine-in and/or patio service for food and beverages. Establishments which are exempt from the order are hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and personal care homes

The order also allows food-service establishments within the city which have a current pouring license to sell new, unopened containers of alcohol along with to-go food orders.

Establishments are allowed to sell up to six new, unopened malt beverages and two bottles of wine in conjunction with a food order of equal or greater value than the alcohol order (no alcohol-only sales are permitted).

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp declared a Public Health Emergency on March 14 related to coronavirus and its spread in Georgia. That declaration triggers certain powers under the City of Cumming Emergency Management Ordinance, including the naming of the City’s Chief of Police as the Chief Emergency Official. Among the actions which can be taken by the chief emergency official are actions to limit the scope and services of certain types of businesses to the extent necessary to address and respond to the declared state of emergency.

Brumbalow said he felt it was important for the City of Cumming to enact this order at this time.

“We find ourselves in an unprecedented point in American history and these times call for unique measures,” he said. “The seriousness of the novel coronavirus situation means that we all must work together and take the steps that are necessary to help stop the spread of Covid-19, which will ultimately lead to saving lives.

This order puts the City of Cumming and Forsyth County, which enacted a similar order on March 27, on the same footing regarding our community’s food-service establishments, which creates less confusion for both businesses and residents throughout our community. This is vital as we all work together to combat this disease.”

Related: Coronavirus: Forsyth County Declares State Of Emergency