‘The virus doesn’t care who you voted for.’ Reeves warns of COVID-19 political divide.
Gov. Tate Reeves addressed Mississippians on Thursday with a message for those who are in a back and forth with friends and neighbors over the seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The first-term governor’s briefing was a solo address, but he’s often joined in daily media sessions by the state’s top health officer, Dr. Thomas Dobbs, in an effort to keep the coronavirus discussion above the political fray.
Reeves, who described “radical liberals” as a threat to his state’s culture and values during his campaign last year, showed concern Thursday over the dialogue he continues to see between the right and left.
“This virus doesn’t care who you voted for in 2016 elections,” the Republican said. “There’s no doubt the 2020 election is coming and some things being said by our political opponents doesn’t help, but the virus doesn’t care. It’s being spread by Republicans, spread by Democrats and spread by independents.
“It doesn’t matter what your political affiliation is. Our enemy is not one another. Our enemy is the virus. Let’s work together to crush it.”
Reeves began the briefing pointing at the slow but steady progress that is starting to show in the daily numbers released by the state’s health department.
“We continue to see positive, favorable movement,” he said. “What we are doing is working, but now is the time to redouble our efforts and work even harder.
“We need to keep doing the things we’ve been doing, and that includes wearing a mask and make sure we’re maintaining social distance.”
The state health department reported 612 new cases and 22 deaths on Thursday. The seven-day average for new cases now stands at 798.00 — the lowest mark since July 14.
Reeves, however, said some counties have continued to see an increased rate of community transition in the last week or so, including Bolivar, Forrest, Jones, Lee and Panola.
The governor also indicated that he was moving closer to deciding what limitations should be placed on crowds at high school football games this fall.
“I believe we can play sports and do it in a safe way,” he said. “The way to do that is limiting crowd size.
“I think it will apply to both public and private schools. The goal is to protect everybody in the state by limiting crowd size to allow social distancing. We also have to make sure people are wearing a mask so they’re not spreading the virus, and doing it unknowingly in many cases.”
The high school football season for the state’s public schools will begin on is set to begin on Sept. 4.
