Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves is still not ready to force a statewide mask mandate, saying the numbers don’t add up for doing that.
The governor added another 13 counties to the list on Tuesday, bringing the total to 54 of Mississippi’s 82 counties under added COVID-19 restrictions. Reeves said in a one-on-one interview that surrounding states that have had mask mandates since the summer have higher case numbers than Mississippi. He said he does hear his critics who want a statewide mask mandate and who question whether children should be in the classroom while cases are spiking. The governor said he does not want to go to virtual learning because he believes kids are more at risk of catching the virus outside of school rather than inside it.
Reeves said, despite the pandemic impact on the nation’s economy, Mississippi’s revenue projections heading into the end of the year are surprisingly high.
