Current Events > Arkansas Gov. Declares Public Emergency, Won't Mandate Masks Or Business Restric

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https://katv.com/news/local/arkansas-governor-to-hold-news-conference-as-covid-19-cases-surge

LITTLE ROCK (KATV) Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Thursday declared a public health emergency amid a surge in COVID-19 cases and announced a special legislative session to change a law that prevents public schools from requiring masks.
Hutchinson said the declaration will allow the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management to seek staffing assistance from health workers outside the state. It also eases the process for retired health workers to re-enter the workforce and for medical students to become licensed.
The Republican governor said the White House is sending federal assistance at his request.
A previous emergency declaration expired May 30 as cases declined and vaccinations increased. But vaccinations have since reached a plateau, leaving the state with one of the lowest vaccination rates in the nation. The low vaccination rate and the spread of the highly-transmissible Delta variant have driven a surge in new cases and hospitalizations.

The state reported 2,843 new cases Thursday, one of the largest one-day increases since the pandemic began. Eleven more deaths were linked to the virus, bringing the state's total to 6,110.
Hospitalizations decreased by nine to 1,055, among the highest counts in the past six months. There were 219 patients on ventilators, or more than 20 percent of patients.
Unvaccinated people have accounted for more than 95 percent of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths in the state since Jan. 1.
Hutchinson said Thursday that he'll call a special legislative session next week to amend Act 1002, a law he signed in April that prohibits state and local mask mandates. He said he's "very concerned" about children age 12 and under who aren't eligible to be vaccinated and schools should be able to decide their own mask policy.
Leaders in the Republican-dominated legislature told the governor that amending the law will be a "heavy lift" but that it's not impossible.
Hutchinson said there will not be another statewide mask mandate or new restrictions on businesses.

I'm beginning to think these Republicans don't know how to govern

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I mean, it sounds like this doesn't "take no steps to address it".

wackyteen posted...

Hutchinson said the declaration will allow the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management to seek staffing assistance from health workers outside the state. It also eases the process for retired health workers to re-enter the workforce and for medical students to become licensed.

It's more like it doesn't take enough steps to address it.

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This is an emergency and fine.

Trumble posted...

I mean, it sounds like this doesn't "take no steps to address it".

That's not addressing the cause though. It's more like he's hiring firefighters instead of forbidding people from selling lit candles and kerosene.
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