Mississippi Governor Says Government Overreach Should Be Limited at ‘Virtually All Costs’

But with the exception of protecting the integrity of the healthcare system, he said

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves delivers a televised address in Jackson, Miss., on June 30, 2020. Rogelio V. Solis/AFP via Getty Images

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said government intervention should always be limited unless it is needed to protect the integrity of the healthcare system.

“We should do everything possible to limit government intervention at virtually all costs,” Reeves told Just The News AM when asked about his philosophy on when government intervention is appropriate. “The only exception to that is when we are trying to protect the integrity of our health care system.”

This comes as states are considering rolling back restrictive CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic measures that have placed an economic burden on businesses and Americans across the country. The governors of Texas and Mississippi have both announced that they would be lifting mask mandates and other pandemic restrictions as the number of hospitalizations and pandemic cases drop and vaccination distribution is underway.

Reeves said his decision to roll back his administration’s intervention is based on data, which shows that the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations in the state fell from 1,444 cases in January to about 318 cases in March.

“We look at the total number of cases that we have on a daily basis on a weekly basis and, and it’s part of the decision-making process,” he said, adding that his administration’s goal is not to eliminate transmission of the CCP virus, but rather protect the integrity of the state’s health care system to ensure that if anyone gets the virus, they can receive quality care and recover.

“The reason [elimination the transmission of the virus] hasn’t been our goal is because that’s not a realistic goal we would never be able to accomplish it,” he said.

“So the government intervention that we have enacted we’ve only done so when we were concerned that our hospitals were going to be full. And that not only would someone who gets the virus be unable to get a hospital bed, but someone who was in an automobile accident might be able to get a hospital bed.

“So we’re continuing to make decisions based upon data with a strong leading towards freedom and opportunity for our people,” he added.

The Biden administration has cautioned against lifting COVID-19 restrictions. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky said the United States has declined to about 70,000 new CCP virus cases per day but said she was concerned about the emerging COVID-19 variants. COVID-19 is the disease the CCP virus causes.

“I am really worried about reports that more states are rolling back the exact public health measures we have recommended to protect people from COVID-19,” Walensky said at a White House news conference.

“Please hear me clearly,” she said. “At this level of cases with variants spreading, we stand to completely lose the hard-earned ground we have gained.”

On Thursday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said his office is suing officials in the City of Austin and Travis County for failing to comply with the governor’s order that lifts a mask mandate across the state.

Paxton told Austin Mayor Steve Adler and Travis County Judge Andy Brown that Gov. Greg Abbott’s order “has the force and effect of state law and supersedes local rules and regulations,” and that the decision to require masks or impose other CCP virus pandemic restrictions is reserved to private businesses on their own premises, in a letter sent to the officials on Wednesday.

“It does not rest with jurisdictions like the City of Austin or Travis County or their local health authorities. Nor do they have the authority to threaten fines for non-compliance,” Paxton wrote.