‘Try to have some faith and trust.’ Columbus judge who self-quarantined tries to calm public
Bobby Peters was plagued not only by persistent chest pain and congestion, but pesky phone calls.
The former Columbus mayor and current Muscogee Superior Court Judge went to Atlanta on March 2 to qualify for re-election, and came home sick as a dog: He had severe headaches, chest pain and congestion, and his throat closed up.
“It hit hard,” he said. “It was really tough.”
Having just come from Fulton County, where residents were reported sick from the COVID-19 outbreak, he called a doctor to ask about being tested for the novel coronavirus. “At the time, they didn’t have any tests in Columbus,” he said.
So he knew what he had to do: self-quarantine for at least 14 days.
“I was just really sick, so I went to bed for a couple of weeks,” he said.
That meant no close contact with anyone else, including his daughter, his 10-year-old grandson, and his mother, 95, who’s in assisted living.
“I have not seen my own daughter and grandson and mother since I got sick in Atlanta on March 2,” he wrote in a Facebook post on Monday. “That is killing me. I miss holding them and hugging them so much.”
He was still getting phone calls and messages in quarantine, however, and the calls and messages are what prompted his Facebook post.
Some people had been deceived by false information, hearing the jails had been emptied because of the spreading virus: “Inmates are not being released to clear the jails,” he wrote, also adding, “The virus is not a conspiracy to affect the upcoming elections. Misinformation & rumors only create more fear and anxiety.”
Some people wanted him to use his power as a judge to give orders to other authorities, he said in an interview Wednesday. Some parents, for example, wanted him to command Muscogee School Superintendent David Lewis either to keep the schools open or to close them only if families were provided support for childcare during the day.
He suggested parents talk to school district leaders. “Don’t call me to tell me to call them,” he said.
He got more than 40 calls or messages, some from people who became angry at his refusal to “use or misuse my power as a judge.” So he asked them on Facebook to “please try to trust the officials you empower to make key decisions affecting the schools, courts and public safety.”
That’s why his personal message noted he also had to follow the advice of those in authority, during this emergency, no matter how much he missed his own family.
“I self-quarantined out of caution,” he wrote, adding that were he to “bend the rules,” he would make an exception for his loved ones.
“Try to have some faith and trust,” he posted.
On Wednesday, Peters said he was feeling better and back on the job. “It took about 10 days to get over the congestion and chest pain and all that,” he said. “It’s probably just bronchitis.”
This story was originally published March 18, 2020 at 2:34 PM.