His decisions drew the condemnation of President Joe Biden. “The last thing we need is Neanderthal thinking that, in the meantime, it’s okay, take off your mask, forget it,” he said on Wednesday,
DeWine declined to criticize his fellow Republican governors, but said Ohio would continue to do what it has been doing.
“When we put the mask order on and really started to apply it, we saw a significant drop in cases,” he said.
DeWine added: “These masks really work and we are still at a very high level – we have 179 boxes per 100,000 for two weeks.”
More than 524,000 Americans died of Covid-19, and nearly 29 million were diagnosed with the disease, according to Johns Hopkins.
On Fox News Sunday, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson defended his decision to ease some requirements for companies. And he also noted that the Arkansas mask mandate is still in effect at least until the end of the month, when it will be suspended if Covid’s numbers have improved to certain levels.
“We are not out of danger,” he said, “but at the same time, hospitalizations are the key, and because of improved therapy and because of vaccines, because we have more people following the guidelines and taking it seriously, we are in a very good position. If it goes in the wrong direction, we can take the necessary steps, but people need hope. “
He also refused to criticize his fellow Republican governors in Texas and Mississippi for his most dramatic actions.
“It just reflects that governors can do this in different ways,” said Hutchinson. “Flexibility, I think, is the model for our states, but for me and Arkansas, I wanted to set a goal and give people hope that we can end the mask’s mandate.”
Reeves said on Sunday that he does not want to discourage the use of a mask.
“If you haven’t been vaccinated, and you’re going to a large crowd, or if you’re going out to dinner, I strongly encourage Mississippi and people across the country to wear a mask, because I believe so, in fact , reduce the ability of individuals to spread the virus, “he told CNN’s” State of the Union. “
But Reeves also told presenter Jake Tapper that it was he – and not his critics – who was paying attention to the data, citing Covid’s improved Mississippi numbers as evidence.
“The fact is, all these individuals who said for a year follow science, follow the data, now they want me, when things are falling, to ignore the data completely.”