Despite her state’s hospitals being overrun with COVID-19 patients, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem maintained her refusal to implement a mask mandate Wednesday, saying she didn’t “want to approach a policy of a mandate just looking to make people feel good.” South Dakota currently has the nation’s second-highest rate of COVID-19 cases and deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only outpaced by North Dakota. However, Noem’s northern counterpart, fellow Republican Doug Burgum, introduced a statewide mask mandate last week, as did Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds. Thirty-six states currently mandate wearing masks outside, according to the AARP.
Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD) on mask mandates: “I don’t want to approach a policy or a mandate just looking to make people feel good.”
(South Dakota has the highest positivity rate in the nation, and masks work.) pic.twitter.com/yacgdFXldT
