PERRY, Ga. — The Georgia National Fairgrounds in Perry is hosting a huge national event and with cases of COVID-19 rising every day, some viewers asked if the fairgrounds were following Governor Brian Kemp's guidelines.
The National Barrel Horse Association Youth World Championship is in town and is attended by more than 1,000 people from across the country.
This year, the fairgrounds says the attendance is lower and that they are following the guidelines.
"Of course, we are doing all of the social distancing inside of the arena, in the barns, on-site in general," said fairgrounds spokeswoman Keaton Walker.
Walker says they have been in contact with the governor's office about re-opening and hosting events.
13WMAZ also reached out to the governor's office after sending multiple emails over several days.
They responded with a reference to a part of Governor Kemp's executive order that does allow conventions.
It mentions providing PPE to employees, displaying signs warning people with COVID-19 not to attend, and following most CDC guidelines.
"We do not have any specific jurisdiction over them," said Michael Hokanson with the North Central Health District.
Hokanson says they can intervene with businesses they regulate like restaurants, but he says since the fairgrounds is not selling food, there isn't much they can do.
"So any complaints of those types of events...we can't step in," Hokanson said.
In an emailed response, the fairgrounds told 13WMAZ they are following Governor Brian Kemp's order.
13WMAZ was not allowed to go in because visitors are not allowed.
They say they are asking everyone to mask up, but they can't require them to wear them because of Kemp's order.
Governor Kemp's office never provided a clear answer if this competition event is following his older, instead only citing documents that talk about conventions.
If you would like to file a complaint, you can click here.
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