All 23 Democrat governors have demanded their residents wear masks, always indoors and sometimes even outdoors.
Republicans are split-- with two thirds of them declining to mandate masks and one-third-- including one-time conservative darlings Greg Abbott of Texas and Mike DeWine of Ohio-- who have been pushing mask requirements as draconian as the most pro-lockdown Democrats.
DeWine has declared that athletic coaches who don’t enforce mask rules at sporting events -- including making high school football players wear masks while on the sidelines--- will face fines and jail time.
“Players must wear face coverings when not on the field or court of play,” Dewine’s order says.
Last month, Abbott said his mandate extended to “gatherings of family members” even “if it’s in a backyard.”
“People need to understand that until we have better medications that can treat COVID-19, until we have the vaccines that will end COVID-19, people must maintain vigilance, even when just gathering with family members, to make sure you do continue to wear masks,” Abbott said.
If they’re waiting for a vaccine for mask relief, Texans and Ohioans will be waiting a long time-- perhaps forever.
A vaccine has never been successfully developed for a coronavirus. Attempts to develop vaccines for SARS and MERS-- which like the common cold, are coronaviruses-- failed.
Masks on kindergartners
Vague orders to wear a “face covering” are coming under increased scrutiny as schools reopen and schoolchildren of all ages are forced to wear them in classrooms.
South Dakota GOP Governor Kristi Noem has publicly discouraged schools from requiring masks. In Oklahoma, large numbers of school districts are declining to mandate masks.
Meanwhile, in Texas, the state’s education agency confirmed last week that all students must wear masks in school per Abbott’s order.
In the face of pushback from fellow Republicans, Abbott issued his seventh 30-day disaster declaration on Monday.
In Sweden, public health officials believe masks have played a role in delaying herd immunity, inevitable for a coronavirus like COVID-19. They never required them.
To be sure, SARS and MERS both disappeared, burning out as herd immunity was reached. It’s widely expected COVID-19 will do the same, though spring and summer lockdowns delayed the spread to healthy populations unaffected by COVID-19, prolonging the current crisis.
Other pro-mask Republicans are Alabama’s Kay Ivey, Arkansas’ Asa Hutchinson, Indiana’s Eric Holcomb, Mississippi’s Tate Reeves, West Virginia’s Jim Justice, Maryland’s Larry Hogan, Massachusetts’ Charlie Baker and Vermont’s Phil Scott.
Hogan, Baker and Scott are “never Trump” Republicans opposing the president’s re-election.
| State | Governor | Party | Statewide Mask Order |
| California | Gavin Newsom | D | Yes |
| Colorado | Jared Polis | D | Yes |
| Connecticut | Ned Lamont | D | Yes |
| Delaware | John Carney | D | Yes |
| Hawaii | David Ige | D | Yes |
| Illinois | J.B. Pritzker | D | Yes |
| Kansas | Laura Kelly | D | Yes |
| Kentucky | Andy Beshear | D | Yes |
| Louisiana | John Bel Edwards | D | Yes |
| Maine | Janet Mills | D | Yes |
| Michigan | Gretchen Whitmer | D | Yes |
| Minnesota | Tim Walz | D | Yes |
| Montana | Steve Bullock | D | Yes |
| Nevada | Steve Sisolak | D | Yes |
| New Jersey | Phil Murphy | D | Yes |
| New Mexico | Michelle Lujan Grisham | D | Yes |
| New York | Andrew Cuomo | D | Yes |
| North Carolina | Roy Cooper | D | Yes |
| Oregon | Kate Brown | D | Yes |
| Pennsylvania | Tom Wolf | D | Yes |
| Rhode Island | Gina Raimondo | D | Yes |
| Virginia | Ralph Northam | D | Yes |
| Washington | Jay Inslee | D | Yes |
| Wisconsin | Tony Evers | D | Yes |
| Alabama | Kay Ivey | R | Yes |
| Arkansas | Asa Hutchinson | R | Yes |
| Indiana | Eric Holcomb | R | Yes |
| Maryland | Larry Hogan | R | Yes |
| Massachusetts | Charlie Baker | R | Yes |
| Mississippi | Tate Reeves | R | Yes |
| Ohio | Mike DeWine | R | Yes |
| Texas | Greg Abbott | R | Yes |
| Vermont | Phil Scott | R | Yes |
| West Virginia | Jim Justice | R | Yes |
| Alaska | Mike Dunleavy | R | No |
| Arizona | Doug Ducey | R | No |
| Florida | Ron DeSantis | R | No |
| Georgia | Brian Kemp | R | No |
| Idaho | Brad Little | R | No |
| Iowa | Kim Reynolds | R | No |
| Missouri | Mike Parson | R | No |
| Nebraska | Pete Ricketts | R | No |
| New Hampshire | Chris Sununu | R | No |
| North Dakota | Doug Burgum | R | No |
| Oklahoma | Kevin Stitt | R | No |
| South Carolina | Henry McMaster | R | No |
| South Dakota | Kristi Noem | R | No |
| Tennessee | Bill Lee | R | No |
| Utah | Gary Herbert | R | No |
| Wyoming | Mark Gordon | R | No |
