Gov. Hutchinson: Wearing a mask does make a difference
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson explains state's mask mandate on 'Your World.'
Arkansas Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson praised President Trump for his tweet featuring himself wearing a face mask and a message that suggested it could be a form of uniting behind a patriotic endeavor.
"Your World" host David Asman noted that Hutchinson himself issued a stringent statewide order that Arkansans wear face masks in public.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette newspaper reported "repeat violators" can face $500 maximum fines and first-time violators will be simply warned of such. However, the governor's order underlines that law enforcement cannot arrest anyone who is in violation.
Hutchinson told Asman that medical experts' advice has changed since the onset of the pandemic because the science behind virus transmission appears to be evolving.
"Whenever you look back in March and April, what we know now is much more advanced. We have learned a lot about how the virus spreads. You've got to continue to listen to the medical experts. They are not perfect, but they look at the science of it and the data," he said, adding that he did not want to enact such a mandate but that he felt the need to.
"It's probably not something that president wants to do [either]," he added. "But I am delighted that he went and posted that on his social media account today, because for those who have heard mixed messages all of a sudden we're united now in the United States ... understanding that this does make a difference."
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Hutchinson said part of the reason for the new societal restrictions are because he wants children in Arkansas to safely return to school, and that he believes masking-up will help stop the spread of the coronavirus. Hutchinson called schools reopening an essential aspect of a student's mental health.
He added that hospitals in the state are not seeing capacity issues despite a rise in cases and he wants to keep it that way.
"We are fortunate in Arkansas in the sense that it has spread broadly. I think with good contact tracing, with everyone following the guidelines and wearing a mask, that we can curtail the increase in cases. While we've had an increase in testing, we need to increase that more. That is a challenge for us right now because we are struggling with our commercial labs."
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