One size does not fit all when it comes to battling the coronavirus. 

Each city and county should be able to make its own decisions and pass its own restrictions, if needed. 

Taliaferro County with two cases and no deaths related to COVID-19 can hardly be compared to Fulton County with more than 10,000 cases and 325 deaths. 

Mayors in Atlanta, Savannah, East Point and leaders in a handful of other cities and counties in Georgia get it. 

These cities have balked at Gov. Brian Kemp’s order that bars local jurisdictions from taking matters into their own hands and protecting their communities through temporary, common sense measures. 

Kemp has said the mayors simply don’t have the authority to require face masks, restrict gatherings or close businesses. 

It is more than a little ironic that leaders who so strongly believe in and advocate for state’s rights do not equally embrace the rights of counties and cities. 

Government has the most direct impact on our lives at the local level. 

While COVID-19 is a global, national and state crisis, local communities can do the most to combat the virus. 

Allowing local officials to take a more surgical approach to mitigating the spread of the virus just makes sense.

When hotspots emerge, more drastic measures are warranted. 

In most places across the state, the number of COVID-19 cases, the number of hospitalizations and the number of related deaths are much higher now than during the statewide economic shutdown. 

So, why do people seem so much less worried?

Why are fewer people wearing masks? 

Why are churches that stopped in-person services back when there were far fewer cases and a much lower risk to their members, now continuing to meet? 

Why are gatherings of 10 or more commonplace now that the virus is surging in our community? 

Why are restaurants packed? 

Obviously, just leaving this up to individuals to voluntarily do the right things does not work for the greater good of the community as a whole. We wish it did, and that people would just make better decisions for themselves and for the community we live in.  

We are not saying the state needs to go into full lockdown mode, but we are saying that the mayor, city council, the county board of commissioners and the commission chairman ought to be able to make local decisions based on science, math and common sense. 

Get out of the way of local government, Gov. Kemp, and help communities stay healthy.