SOUTH Dakota’s Republican governor said masks and socially distancing won’t be enforced during Donald Trump’s Mount Rushmore visit on July 3.
Gov Kristi Noem said coronavirus mitigation measures weren’t necessary as the deadly disease spreads throughout the United States.
“We will have a large event at July 3rd,” South Dakota‘s governor said during a Fox News interview.
“We told those folks that have concerns that they can stay home, but those who want to come and join us, we’ll be giving out free face masks, if they choose to wear one. But we will not be social distancing.
“Every one of them has the opportunity to make a decision that they’re comfortable with.”
Her comments come as officials there insisted residents should “focus on personal responsibility” when it comes to stopping the spread.
The President will give a celebratory address at the Independence Day celebration in Mount Rushmore to mark the Fourth of July weekend.
Trump will travel to the Mount Rushmore National Memorial sculpture in Keystone that Friday.
The event will be “limited” to 7,500 people, as per South Dakota’s state travel site.
“We ask the public to be our partner in adopting social distancing practices when visiting parks,” the National Park Service said.
South Dakota is home some 884,659 people and it’s one of the least impacted states, with 807 active cases as of June 30.
It has experienced 6,716 infections and less than 100 people have died from the deadly bug in-state.
Noem’s lack of compliance with CDC guidelines comes as Florida doctors in Jacksonville, Florida urged GOP politicians to cancel the Republican National Committee Convention there in August.
Jacksonville City imposed a mask mandate on Monday evening requiring all people to wear indoors, or in areas where social distancing isn’t feasible.
By Sunday, there were nearly 150,000 confirmed cases in Florida and over 3,400 deaths.
By June 26, Florida’s cases drastically had surged to nearly 4,000 new cases since the previous day.
The Republican convention will be held in the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, which can hold some 15,000 attendees.
As of June 30, it doesn’t seem as though this seating will be limited and medics have pleaded with officials to reconsider hosting it.
“Unfortunately, for some, a face mask has become a political statement,” doctor’s claimed in their written appeal.
“This is irrational and meant to sow division. The enemy is this virus, not each other. There are ways of encouraging compliance short of making it a criminal offense, and it’s working in hundreds of cities worldwide.
“It is extremely dangerous and contrary to current public health recommendations to stage a large event in an area where the number of cases is surging.
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“The RNC should be postponed or very significantly reduced in numbers because of these risks.
“It is estimated that more than 40,000 people, including the press and protestors, will attend from all over the US.”
The news comes as top doc Anthony Fauci warned daily cases could surge past 100,000 if the the nation “does not turn around” the viral spread.
