STATE WIDE–Gov. Tate Reeves has repeatedly said that he will not issue a blanket, state-wide mask mandate. Rep. Bennie Thompson is urging him to go back on that.
Thompson, who represents Attala, Leake and Holmes counties and the Delta in Washington, said on Twitter that Gov. Reeves should use every resource available to fight the pandemic in Mississippi. The request was made in the form of an open letter to the governor.
“Mississippi has the second-most COVID-19 cases in the nation and the most deaths per 100,000 people. The state ranks third-highest in hospitalizations and has the second-lowest vaccinate rate in the country, with only 36 percent of the population fully vaccinated,” he wrote. “I implore you, as Governor, to do more to address this dire situation.”
JUST IN: Chairman @BennieGThompson sent a letter to Gov. @tatereeves to express his grave concern with the rise of COVID-19 cases in Mississippi and to urge him to use all available resources to protect the lives of Mississippians.
Read it here ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/LoaSZsInEn
— House Homeland Security Committee (@HomelandDems) August 20, 2021
Thompson noted that children have been victims of COVID-19.
“I implore you as governor to do more to address this dire situation. I urge you to issue a statewide mask mandate for all unvaccinated and vaccinated individuals in all indoor settings, including schools,” read the letter.
Reeves said last week, after being pressed, that he had no intention of issuing such a mandate.
Last year, mask mandates were county-by-county, with nearly all of the state’s 82 counties being under a mandate at one time or another.
