Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) on Sunday explained why they issued statewide mask mandates in the past week after their initial reluctance to do so.
As President Trump continues to resist the notion of issuing a nationwide mask mandate amid spikes in coronavirus cases throughout the country, Hutchinson’s and Polis’ explanations of their change of heart regarding mask-wearing requirements comes the same day that NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins expressed that how “bizarre” it is to turn mask mandates into a political debate.
“How could it be that something as basic as a public health action that we have very strong evidence can help seems to attach to people’s political party?” Collins said on MSNBC Sunday morning.
Hutchinson and Polis appeared to echo Collins’ sentiment during Sunday morning interviews on ABC News as well by expressing their dismay over the political debate that has ensued over mask-wearing requirements.
Here’s what Hutchinson and Polis had to say:
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R)
After saying that he does not support a national mask mandate, Hutchinson was pressed by ABC News’ Martha Raddatz on his thoughts regarding how partisan the issue of mask-wearing has become.
Hutchinson, who initially resisted a issuing a statewide mask mandate and a stay-at-home order earlier in the pandemic, said that the mask-wearing requirements “shouldn’t be about politics” before adding that governors ordered mask mandates “based upon the circumstances of our state.”
“It’s not popular. It’s not something we want to do. It’s not the first lever we pull,” Hutchinson said. “But it is one that, when the data says it’s necessary, we do it.”
Hutchinson then argued that a statewide mask mandate is the “right approach” because it will help Arkansas reopen schools and to “keep our economy moving.”
“We need to wear a mask, that example needs to be set by our national leadership,” Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson says when pressed about Trump’s mixed messaging on masks.
“It shouldn’t be about politics,” he adds when asked about partisan divide on masks. https://t.co/BS2kWvi5e7 pic.twitter.com/wiuSJQ8mBm
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) July 19, 2020
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D)
Polis similarly told Raddatz that Colorado’s statewide mask mandate is “not partisan” and masks are “a ticket to more freedom.”
“It makes it less likely that businesses will be shuttered. It makes it less likely that people will die. It makes it more likely school will return,” Polis said. “If we care about those things, you’re going to take that as a matter of personal responsibility to protect yourself, protect others, protect our economy.”
Polis went on to explain his earlier reluctance to issuing a statewide mask mandate, which he said centered around not wanting to tell people “what to do in their lives.” However, Polis said that “we simply found that they work” after reviewing data from cities and counties in Colorado that issued local mask mandates.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on his decision to issue a statewide mask mandate after initially expressing hesitation: “We simply found that they work … the mask mandate was really an easy decision after I saw that data.” https://t.co/BS2kWvi5e7 pic.twitter.com/UwK9zPY9lN
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) July 19, 2020
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis says wearing masks is "not partisan," but "a ticket to more freedom."
“It makes it less likely that businesses will be shuttered. It makes it less likely that people will die. It makes it more likely school will return.” https://t.co/BS2kWvi5e7 pic.twitter.com/WoLNZzYdHO
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) July 19, 2020
Too little, too late.
A mask mandate three months ago might have averted the current caseload explosions. As it stands, you need far more than a mask mandate (i.e. lockdown your state) to get the current outbreaks under control.
They’ve squandered 4+ months now
The lockdowns are coming. By mid-late August, I expect substantial parts of the U.S. to be on some version closer to what was in March, even if slightly modified.
To see is to believe…
Trust but verify…
Proof is in the pudding…
A smart person would adhere to those phrases AND would learn from other people’s experiences…like from what happened in NY or Lombardy when they became Covid hotspots!
It’s months late and still short of PPE, testing, tracing and quarantine strategies later…
These RethugniCON elected state officials who wants to be more trumpian than safe - begrudgingly mandates face masks…
They are failing to do their jobs = protect public health in their states!
Don’t they know it that Trump is setting them up for the blame?
Trump MAL-administration referred to this as “state authority handoff,”
Stupid Rethugs…Morons Are Governing America!
Addendum:
Another stupid Rethug…Gov. Kemp wants to “restrain” Mayor Bottoms from issuing press statements and speaking to the press in addition to suing her re:face masks!
Hello Stupid Rethug…1stA Violation!
https://twitter.com/KeishaBottoms/status/1284836124821729281
Addendum2:
The stupidest Rethug of all…
The Unpresidented Idiot
It is very likely that the new cycle is going to be far worse than what happened in March-April. When that started to take off, the nation shut down very quickly for the most part, especially the critical places like the NYC area. This time, Republicans played politics and didn’t take even the most basic steps, despite the fact that the outbreak had already grown worse than it was in NYC. They still refuse to do much of anything, even as the case counts grow…and they seem to think that it won’t be that bad for some unknown reason. The Republicans did this last time as well, until the death counts skyrocketed…that was due to nursing homes being infected, this time around it’s in the community more so it’s not killing people as quickly. But, that lag time is coming to an end, and allowing the virus to spread as far as it has without intervention means when the deaths start piling up there will be a lot of them coming.
There is an advantage in that the hospitals now understand better how to treat this without people dying so readily, so at least some people may be saved. But, that won’t happen if they get overwhelmed, which is already happening in places. And, this outbreak isn’t mainly in one spit, it’s all over the nation, and getting worse…even places like CA are trying not to lock down again despite the growing need to do so. No one wants to shut everything down, it will hurt people, but if the alternative is killing more people there just isn’t a choice.
Republicans are still playing politics over this, when what we really need now is a huge infusion of money to support states, small businesses, and the millions of people who are on the edge of being tossed out of their homes. The economic impact will be far worse if they refuse to step forward and do anything about it…and, right now, it appears that’s exactly what they are going to do. They really are responsible for all the pain and suffering that has happened since May, and that will happen soon…we could have recovered and gone on if they had only lead instead of played games for political power. We can only hope that they get what they deserve, and the Republican party ends up in the grave it is digging with so many American lives.