Arkansas Governor Latest to Vow State Will Not Impose Restrictions for COVID Outbreaks

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders delivers the Republican response to the State of the Union address by President Joe Biden in Little Rock, Ark., on Feb. 7, 2023. Al Drago/Pool/Getty Images

Republican Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders has vowed that her state will not participate if another round of federal COVID restrictions is imposed.

“COVID lockdowns killed businesses, tore apart communities and stunted our kids’ education. And now they’re talking about doing it again. So let me be clear: as long as I am governor, Arkansas will never lock down” Ms. Huckabee Sanders said while Speaking in a video statement that was posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. “We will not close our schools, our churches, or our businesses. We will never make you or your children wear a mask. And we will never ever have a COVID-19 vaccine mandate.”

Freedom, not government control, should guide how individuals respond, she explained.

“Government should never loom larger than individual liberty in our lives. That’s the principle our nation was founded on. And if the federal government ever comes to tell us to shut down again, my administration will fight to keep Arkansas free.”

Ms. Huckabee Sanders is one of the latest governors to make a statement of the stance of state leadership.

Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott posted a similar statement on X on Aug. 24, “There will be NO mask mandates in Texas.” In fact, there is a new law that went into effect Sept. 1, 2023 which says local governments are prohibited from requiring COVID-related masks, vaccines, or business shutdowns. The law does not cover such restrictions for private organizations including private schools, businesses and hospitals.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said in a statement that her office has fielded calls from the public asking if mask mandates were planned in Iowa. “Not on my watch,” Ms. Reynolds said. “In Iowa, government respects the people it serves and fights to protect their rights. I rejected the mandates and lockdowns of 2020, and my position has not changed.”

Never Going Back

Mississippi Republican Gov. Tate Reeves was another to issue a statement this week.

“Mississippians will not and should not submit to fear again. In the early days of COVID, there was understandable uncertainty. We did not yet know what we were facing,” Mr. Reeves said in the statement. “As the months unfolded, it became clear that there were two pandemics: a disease that was easy to spread and that was deadly for many vulnerable people, and a pandemic of fear stoked by ‘the expert class’ that demanded total subjugation.”

People have a right to make their own decisions, he added.

“If you want to take extraordinary measures to protect yourself from getting sick, God bless you,” Mr. Reeves said. “That is your right, and you should do what you think is best. Maybe you’re the smartest of all of us. But we are never going back to 2020.”

Fewer Deaths

COVID measures are on the lips of governors in response to several factors. President Joe Biden last week signed a proposal for Congress to agree to additional funding for a new coronavirus vaccine booster shot. Some private entities are reinstating mask rules. And COVID cases are on what has become a seasonal rise.

COVID hospital admissions were up 18.8 percent in the seven days previous to Aug. 19, the most recent statistics available from the CDC. That is, 15,067 patients were hospitalized with COVID in that time. But, the CDC still classifies this as a “low” number of cases compared to its other classifications of medium and high. Patients with COVID are using 2.2 percent of the hospital beds in the United States. That is a .3 percent increase in inpatient bed occupancy.

While it can still be deadly, far fewer people are dying from COVID today. Of those with COVID, 636 died in that time.

COVID hospitalizations peaked in the United States the week of January, 15 2022, with 150,647 patients hospitalized, according to CDC numbers.

COVID deaths peaked a year earlier, the week of Jan. 2, 2021, when 25,947 people died with COVID.