During a conference call, President Joe Biden pled with state governors to continue with mask mandates to slow the spread of the coronavirus. However, he was largely ignored by several Republican governors, according to AP News.

The president, along with CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, previously stated that now was not the time to relax safety measures. Walensky cited that the seven-day average of 61,000 new COVID-19 cases per day went up 13%, and the seven-day average of deaths is up 6%. But regardless of this information, several Republican governors weren’t trying to hear it.

Arkansas’s governor Asa Hutchison is dropping the state’s mask mandates immediately. He advised the following:

“We made our decision in Arkansas based upon the criteria we set.”

“This is a goal we had. We achieved that, so we stuck with the principle that was outlined.”

Alabama’s governor Kay Ivey intends to end her state’s mask mandate on April 9th. Her spokeswoman, Gina Maiola, stated the following:

“We have made progress, and we are moving towards personal responsibility and common sense, not endless government mandates.”

Despite the indifference, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki argued the following:

“It’s important for people to hear that we’re still in a war with this virus, and people still need to be vigilant in order to return to normal.”

Will we ever really go back to being normal, Jen Psaki? I’m inclined to believe the conspiracy theorists who say that this is the new normal, especially the social distancing. So I can’t fault Republican governors who are pushing back.

Until Next Time…

(Sources)

Photo Credit: Bangor Daily News

Selsky, A. (2021, March 30). GOP governors ignore Biden’s latest plea on mask mandates. Retrieved March 31, 2021, from https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-us-news-arkansas-coronavirus-pandemic-rochelle-walensky-0b11e46a18dc52ca337e86759b5fe418