The North Dakota House of Representatives passed a bill on Monday that would make mandates for future masks illegal.
The Grand Forks Herald reported that the project was approved by 50-44. Then it goes to the state Senate.
The bill comes three months after North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum (R) imposed a statewide masking mandate, although the governor himself has previously expressed skepticism about such a move.
The project’s sponsor, state deputy Jeff Hoverson (R), called the mask “diabolical nonsense”, characterizing them as a conspiracy led by “wealthy unelected bureaucrats who are stealing our freedoms and perpetuating lies,” reported the Herald.
The number of COVID-19 cases decreased after the mandate of Burgum’s mask. The Herald also notes that health experts attributed the decline to a combination of factors, including restrictions on business and increased social distance.
According to the newspaper, several Republican Party supporters of the state bill said they believed that wearing a mask did nothing to slow the spread of COVID-19. Several health experts, including the country’s leading infectious disease specialist, Anthony Fauci
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The newspaper recalled that masks are required in the two chambers of the state legislature. However, the rule is not strictly enforced with Mayor Kim Koppelman, noting that the rule may be reexamined in the coming weeks.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released a study that found that wearing a cloth mask over a medical mask can significantly slow the spread of COVID-19.
According to CDC data, North Dakota has confirmed more than 94,000 cases of coronavirus and 1,438 deaths since the pandemic began almost a year ago.