Mississippi GOP Gov. Tate Reeves on Sunday asserted the “mixed messages” from the World Health Organization and other authorities about face coverings has hampered compliance as the coronavirus surges in his state.
In an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Reeves said the bad advice came when people were paying the closest attention.
“I will remind you that in early March and early April, there were organizations like the World Health Organization that said you shouldn't wear a mask, that it would do you no good,” Reeves said, adding: “It's those kind of mixed messages that are being sent.”
“Of course it was a while ago,” he said. “But people were paying attention then. There are a lot of people in my state who said ‘Well, these planners who want to tell us what to do, they said six months ago that this is what we should do and now they've completely changed their mind.’ So it's a complicated process.”
Reeves said Mississippi was taking a “surgical approach” to a surge in COVID-19 cases, doing the “simple things” to slow the spread and may wind up taking additional measures if needed, including those that would shutter bars.
“I don't understand how you can argue that we have to take a surgical approach to the coronavirus and then advocate for a top-down management approach from Washington where they make all the decisions,” he complained.
“We are looking at bars, we've talked a lot about bars and the potential spread there over the last six or seven days and we're taking stock of what's going on there. And we may implement additional measures in the near future,” he said.
But Reeves said it was his effort to “get my constituents to adhere to those simple things” that will help curb the surge.
“If we will do the little things, we can make a difference in slowing the spread of this virus. ….There's no question that across America the guard was let down in late May. There's no doubt about that. But the reality is we've got to talk about the future and what can we do to get the most people to comply with wearing a mask and with the social distancing.
“And I believe this surgical approach is the best way to do that in Mississippi.”
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