(Bloomberg) -- A federal judge ruled against landlord groups who were seeking to block the U.S. Centers for Disease Control’s national moratorium on evictions due to the coronavirus pandemic.

U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee in Atlanta on Thursday rejected a motion for a preliminary injunction brought by a nonprofit called the New Civil Liberties Alliance on behalf of a Virginia landlord. The group was joined by the National Apartment Association, which represents some 85,000 landlords responsible for 10 million rental units.

The judge said the public interest in controlling the spread of COVID-19 outweighed the landlords’ economic interest, saying their “economic harm pales in comparison to the significant loss of lives” that could occur if the order was blocked.

The four-month national moratorium, announced in September, applies to any tenant who can’t make rent due to economic conditions and who presents a written declaration about their circumstances to their landlord.

Read More: Eviction Filings by Big Landlords Surged After Trump Issued Ban

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