Brian Kemp calls National Guard to help overrun hospitals -- but still won't budge on 'divisive' vax mandates

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed an executive order on Monday that allows him to call up additional National Guard troops to deal with the state's overrun hospitals as the novel coronavirus batters his state.

Kemp's order instructs the Georgia Department of Defense to provide an additional 1,500 National Guard troops, a significant increase from the 1,000 currently deployed.

"Kemp's new efforts come after weeks of a more limited approach toward a rise in new cases. They also underscore the growing challenges facing the state as a new wave fueled by the delta variant preys mostly on those who refuse to get vaccinated," The Atlanta Journal-Constitutionreported. "Most of Georgia's hospitals are so crowded with COVID-19 patients that they have little or no room in their intensive care units. State health officials tracked 170 outbreaks in the past week, the largest total since the start of the pandemic, and most of them are linked to schools."

Kemp, a Republican, has banned schools from imposing mask mandates.

At Monday's announcement, Kemp argued against vaccine mandates.

"This is America," he said, despite the country having long required vaccinations.

"It's just causing division. It's causing people's blood pressure to go up," Kemp said. "We need to continue to educate and advocate for people to get the vaccine."