Republican Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson praised President Trump for his tweet featuring himself wearing a face mask and a message suggesting it could be a way to unite behind a patriotic effort.
“Your World” presenter David Asman noted that Hutchinson himself issued a strict state order for Arkansas residents to wear face masks in public.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette newspaper reported that “repeat offenders” can face maximum fines of $ 500 and first-time offenders will simply be warned about it. However, the governor’s order stresses that the police cannot arrest anyone who is in violation.
Hutchinson told Asman that the advice of medical experts has changed since the start of the pandemic because the science behind virus transmission appears to be evolving.
“When you look back on March and April, what we know now is much more advanced. We have learned a lot about how the virus spreads. You should continue to listen to medical experts. They are not perfect, but look at the science and the data,” He said, adding that he did not want to promulgate such a mandate but that he felt the need to do so.
“It’s probably not something the president wants to do [either]”he added.” But I am delighted that you have gone and posted that on your social media account today, because for those of you who have heard mixed messages, we are suddenly united now in the United States … understanding that this makes a difference. “
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Hutchinson said part of the reason for the new social restrictions is because she wants Arkansas children to return to school safely, and that she believes the masking will help stop the spread of the coronavirus. Hutchinson called on schools to reopen an essential aspect of a student’s mental health.
He added that hospitals in the state are not seeing capacity problems despite an increase in cases and wants to keep it that way.
“We are fortunate in Arkansas in the sense that it has spread widely. I believe that with good follow-up contact, with everyone following the guidelines and wearing a mask, we can reduce the increase in cases. While we have had an increase in testing We need to increase that more. That is a challenge for us right now because we are struggling with our commercial labs. “
