Republican Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said his state is “not gonna participate in a nationwide lockdown,” as coronavirus cases surge throughout the nation and some areas have re-issued COVID-19 mandates.
“The fact is, we’re gonna try to work with whomever the president is, but we’re not gonna participate in a nationwide lockdown,” Reeves said in a Thursday press conference, according to Fox News.
“The people of Mississippi can’t just go home, shut down their small business, shut down their restaurants, shut down their gyms …and just think that you can come back six weeks from now, flip a switch and everything’s gonna be fine,” he continued. “That’s not the way the economy works.”
The governor said if former Vice President Joe Biden becomes president, not much will change in regards to COVID-19. He added Mississippi will not participate in a nationwide shutdown. https://t.co/lIX2R5i2zI
— WJTV 12 News (@WJTV) November 12, 2020
One of president-elect Joe Biden’s COVID-19 advisers on Wednesday said a four-to-six-week nationwide lockdown may curb the spread of the virus in an interview with Yahoo Finance, according to a separate Fox report. Reeves appeared to oppose such a measure.
“If we work together, we can truly slow the spread of this virus,” he said, according to Fox. “There is nothing that we can do that is foolproof. There is no mitigation measure that we can do that guarantees the elimination of the virus.”
“And so what we’re talking about is trying to attack it in a number of different ways while we do not allow for the shutdown of our economy,” he continued.
The governor, despite his opposition to a lockdown, renewed the state’s mask mandate on Wednesday for a total of 15 counties, according to WTVA. (RELATED: Ohio Reissues Mask Mandate Amid COVID-19 Surge)
The city of Chicago also recently issued a stay-at-home advisory, which takes effect on Monday, urging residents to leave their homes only for essential reasons, according to WGN9. Authorities also mandated that private gatherings be limited to six people ahead of Thanksgiving, the local outlet reported.
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