Both Arkansas and Colorado issued state mandates Thursday that require people to wear face masks in public amid a resurgence of coronavirus cases across the United States in recent weeks.
Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, a Republican, had resisted a statewide mask mandate and opposed issuing an order to stay home earlier in the pandemic, but announced the mask requirement when social distancing is not possible in hopes of curbing the disease. rapid spread in the state.
Hutchinson’s order goes into effect on Monday.
FILE: Governor Asa Hutchinson removes Arkansas Razorbacks branding when he arrives for the daily coronavirus briefing at the State Capitol in Little Rock.
(Arkansas Democrat-Gazette via AP)
The governor’s decision comes amid growing support for the mask requirements of business and health leaders. Previously, he encouraged people to wear masks and allowed cities to pass ordinances that required wearing them, but he failed to enforce them statewide.
Arkansas coronavirus cases have increased dramatically since May, when the state began allowing businesses that had closed due to the pandemic to reopen despite warnings from federal health officials.
Hutchinson announced the order as the state reported one of its largest single-day increases in confirmed cases of COVID-19. The Health Department on Thursday added 817 new confirmed cases to the state’s overall account of 31,114 since the pandemic began. It also increased the number of deaths in the state by six, to 341, and added 12 more patients to the number of people currently hospitalized with the disease, for a total of 470.
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Meanwhile, Colorado Governor Jared Polis, a Democrat, announced an executive order Thursday for a statewide requirement to wear masks in public.
FILE: Colorado Governor Jared Polis highlighted during a press conference about the state’s efforts to contain the spread of the new coronavirus in Denver.
(AP)
“We have a choice in Colorado: more use of masks and more attention to social distancing or more damage to our economy and loss of life. That is an easy decision to make, ”Polis said during an afternoon press conference.
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The mandate will apply to people over the age of 10 and will take effect at midnight. The order will expire in 30 days, but can be extended, Fox 31 of Denver reported.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
