Via the West Central Tribune, Forum News Service staffers Jeremy Fugleberg and Nick Sabato report in 2 indigenous SD lawmakers ask Gov. Noem for state mask mandate, as COVID-19 cases top 80,000:
Two Indigenous South Dakota lawmakers are asking Gov. Kristi Noem for a statewide mask mandate to reduce the spread of COVID-19, as state health officials reported Monday, Nov. 30, the number of South Dakotans who have tested positive for COVID-19 surpassed 80,000.
State Rep. Peri Pourier and Sen. Red Dawn Foster, both Democrats, sent Noem a letter last week imploring her to implement a statewide mask mandate, as COVID-19 deaths in the state topped 1 in 1,000 state residents.
"There really isn't a need to battle over statistics and politics right now. This isn't a political game of playing roulette with our communities or our families," the two District 27 lawmakers wrote. "It is an issue of public health that surpasses political parties and hits the core of our humanity."
The two compared it to statewide smoke-free laws, speed limit and seat-belt laws as common-sense approaches to protecting South Dakotans from harm.
"As indigenous women, we are writing from the earnest position of granddaughters, sisters, mothers, and the life-givers of our culture and people," they wrote. "It has been ingrained into us that our decisions must take into consideration the care and safety of our communities and our people above our individual selves."
Noem, a Republican, had yet to respond to the lawmakers' letter as of Sunday, Rep. Pourier said in a Facebook post.
On Monday, Forum News Service reached out to Noem's office for a response to the letter. Maggie Seidel, Noem's senior policy adviser, responded by asking if FNS has sought evidence from the two lawmakers on the effectiveness of mask mandates.
"Mask mandates don’t work – they haven’t worked anywhere in the world. We respectfully request the news media cover the facts," Seidel wrote.
Noem has repeatedly said she doesn't support statewide mask mandates, doesn't believe they're effective and said she won't issue one in South Dakota — despite support for such a mandate from the state's physicians and its two largest health systems, based on a growing body of scientific research. Noem has defended those who choose not to wear masks, calling their use a matter of personal choice and responsibility. . . .
Read the rest at the Tribune.
Here's a copy of the letter from South Dakota singer-songwriter Tommy Edwin on Twitter:
Letter sent from two members of the #SouthDakota state legislature, who happen to be indigenous/native, to @govkristinoem concerning the COVID crisis in our state. This is how bad things have gotten. Please tag and retweet. pic.twitter.com/5JfRJ7Bcdw
— Tommy Edwin (@tommy_edwin1212) November 30, 2020
Even crooners get the blues.
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Photo: This full page ad appeared in every South Dakota daily newspaper on November 25, signed by 600 physicians begging residents to #maskupsodak. Tweeted by Jennifer S. Hyk on November 25, 2020.
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