Gov. Tate Reeves’ eagerness to lift mask mandates in Mississippi is understandable. The Republican caught plenty of heat from his conservative base over masks, business capacity limits and other restrictions aimed at reducing the spread of the coronavirus.
So it was no surprise this week when Reeves made Mississippi one of the first two in the country to drop mask mandates and other precautions.
Eliminating the statewide restrictions may not have a great impact. Mayors in a number of cities, including three in Pike County, have their own mask mandates and other orders in effect. The governor’s decision does not affect those local ones. Nor are schools affected.
Further, it’s been easy to see over the past several months who’s been “part of the team” about the coronavirus and who hasn’t. Most people have worn masks in public, avoided crowds and generally used common sense. But others seem proud to ignore every mandate.
If you happen to talk to someone who thinks requiring masks during a pandemic is unconstitutional and that the virus isn’t really that big of a deal, ask them if they’ve volunteered to assist at a hospital, where overworked staffers might need a hand. If the virus is not serious, they have nothing to fear. Right?
Setting that debate aside, the virus news has been pretty good lately. As of this week, the seven-day average of confirmed infections is down by two-thirds from its January peak. The number of virus deaths is down even further, by about three quarters. There are fewer virus patients in the state’s hospitals, and fewer are requiring ventilator treatment.
It is common sense that as more people get vaccinated — a program that’s going full speed ahead, if the daily line of cars on Veterans Boulevard is any indication — the number of infections should continue to decline. The governor is betting that this will happen.
He’s probably correct. Most of his decisions over the past year have been sound. Still, the numbers say that despite the recent reduction in infections and deaths, Mississippi’s current figures are higher than they were for most of 2020.
In announcing his decision, Reeves said, “The governor’s office is getting out of the business of telling people what they can and cannot do.” That sounds good — unless infections and hospitalizations begin to tick upward again as too many people let down their guard.
Hopefully the medical briefings will continue to provide declining numbers as more people get vaccinated. But if we have learned anything over the past year, it’s that Mr. Covid is a resilient opponent.
The governor seems to want it both ways. He dropped the mandates but encouraged people to continue wearing masks. Given that, he should have kept the mandates in place a while longer. People might have been disappointed or even angry. But short-term emotions are better than running the risk of being embarrassed by having to issue a new set of restrictions.
