Coronavirus US Response: Lindsey Graham Worries Georgia May Be Reopening Too Fast Amid Pandemic

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Tuesday that he is worried Georgia is lifting its shutdown order too soon amid the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.

"I support what South Carolina Governor @henrymcmaster announced yesterday — a small reopening of our state's economy with a focus on social distancing," Graham posted on Twitter. "I worry that our friends and neighbors in Georgia are going too fast too soon."

Graham's comments come as some Republican governors have sought to open their states despite a strong turnaround in coronavirus cases.

The longtime senator had previously made statements that crossed party lines during the coronavirus pandemic. In March, Graham encouraged President Trump to "make sure the science is behind what he says" about the pandemic.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, a Republican, announced Monday that he is allowing some stores in the state to reopen, after issuing a shutdown order two weeks ago. Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, on the other hand, will allow nail salons, massage therapists, bowling alleys and gyms to reopen on Friday, with restaurants and movie theaters reopening Monday.

Kemp enacted a shutdown order, closing down all non-essential businesses, on April 3. Kemp was initially reluctant to close down businesses in the state.

"I think this is the right approach at the right time. It's not just throwing the keys back to these business owners," Kemp said about the reopening process, but added there may be more cases of the virus in the Peach State. "We're probably going to have to see our cases continue to go up, but we're a lot better prepared for that now than we were over a month ago."

Van Johnson, the Democratic Mayor of Savannah, criticized the reopening in an interview with CNN.

"I am beyond disturbed. In my mind, it's reckless. Our reality here in Savannah is our numbers are still going up," he said.

Georgia's coronavirus death toll has seen a sharp uptick since April 10 when it reached 425. As of Tuesday at 3:35 p.m. ET, there have been 19,884 coronavirus cases and 802 deaths in Georgia.