Forget the war of words between President Joe Biden and Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves over the latter’s decision to lift most of this state’s mask mandate and relax other restrictions designed to deter the spread of COVID-19.
The Democratic president and the Republican governor are not going to be on the same page about much.
The question is whether Reeves’ decision is rooted in science or in politics, and, if it’s the latter, whether he will come to regret it.
The recent virus numbers for Mississippi are largely encouraging. 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-fourths There are fewer virus patients in the state’s hospitals, and fewer are requiring ventilator treatment.
Vaccinations, except for the week in February when they were largely shut down by severe back-to-back winter storms, have been going smoothly. About a fifth of the state’s adult population has received at least one dose of vaccine.
Despite that dramatic improvement, however, other numbers can’t be overlooked. The infection rate in Mississippi remains in the top half in the country, and our death rate from the start of the pandemic — fifth highest on a per capita basis — would suggest Mississippi should be extremely cautious about lifting restrictions, rather than be one of the leading risk takers.
Reeves, even though he has personally struggled with following his own COVID-related recommendations, obviously believes in the medical efficacy of masks. He kept the mandate in place for schools, and he encouraged others to continue to wear masks. By lifting his broader mandate, however, it’s likely that the governor’s recommendation to voluntarily stay the course will be heavily ignored.
It also could prompt local governments that imposed their own mask requirements before Reeves got on board to now follow his lead and back off. Greenwood Mayor Carolyn McAdams, who was one of the first public officials in the state to champion mask-wearing, signaled this week that she thinks its effectiveness may have run its course.
Such resignation will be music to the ears of those who have contended that mask mandates are an incursion on personal liberty and defied them, unconcerned as to whether they were putting themselves or others at risk.
It will also be welcomed by those, larger in number, who are just tired of having half their face covered at work or whenever they are in an indoor public space.
But is lifting this precaution medically wise at this point? Most of those in the scientific community would say no, that it’s too soon. They claim that states such as Mississippi and Texas — the other one to lift its mask mandate this week — are flirting with fueling a fourth surge of infections.
If we have learned anything over the past year, it’s better to listen to the scientists than the politicians when it comes to dealing with the coronavirus. Had Reeves stuck with his mask mandate a little longer, it might have caused him some heat from his supporters, but think of the heat he will get if his gamble doesn’t work out and Mississippi hospitals fill up again with gravely ill COVID-19 patients.
Donald Trump is a private citizen today largely because he botched the management of the pandemic. Reeves seems to have missed that lesson.
