County Mayor Jim Coppinger said nearby counties without a mask mandate are contributing to a new spike in Hamilton County COVID-19 cases.
"North Georgia is wide open - always has been," he said.
Hamilton County on Tuesday had a record number of coronavirus cases by a wide margin. Many of those hospitalized were from area counties - not Hamilton County, which has a mask mandate still in effect.
Whitfield County, Ga., on Tuesday reported three more coronavirus deaths - bringing the toll to 70. The Whitfield County Commission the same day again opted against ordering mask wearing.
County Mayor Coppinger said a new Vanderbilt study shows a remarkable difference in COVID numbers in counties where there is a mask mandate and those where no directive is in effect.
He said no nearby counties to Chattanooga have mask mandates.
The county mayor said he saw a North Georgia parents on TV saying, "The good news is that my child goes to a Hamilton County school." He commented, "I thought to himself that you are bringing it up here."
County Mayor Coppinger said he has been to a couple of events recently in Hamilton County "that were really concerning to me. Some people feel that 'I won't get it,' but that's not the case. We have county employees in the hospital right now."
He said it appears that "more and more people are letting their guard down. These are at private events."