THE South Dakota governor is continuing to protect her citizens’ “liberties” as coronavirus lockdown protests rage around the country.
Kristi Noem refuses to enact stay-at-home orders even though the COVID-19 infections in her state have increased by nearly 700 percent in the last few weeks.
There are about 1,000 cases in her state, up from 129 on April 1.
Gov. Noem told Fox News on Thursday that she informed residents that she “took an oath to uphold the Constitution” when she was in Congress.
“I believe in our freedoms and liberties,” the Republican governor told Laura Ingraham of The Ingraham Angle.
“What I’ve seen across the country is so many people give up their liberties for just a little bit of security and they don’t have to do that.”
She added that “if a leader will take too much power in a time of crisis, that is how we lose our country.
“So, I felt like I’ve had to use every single opportunity to talk about why we slow things down, we make decisions based on science and facts, and make sure that we are not letting emotion grab a hold of the situation.”
Her comments come as thousands of people in at least eight states have protested against the massive shutdowns and self-quarantine guidelines.
President Trump said Thursday that 29 states were on the verge of reopening, but the decision to do so would be left up to the governors.
South Dakota is one state that has not shut down, and it has seen a spike in the number of cases.
More than 400 employees at a pork-processing plant in South Dakota have tested positive for the virus, and some fear that the outbreak could lead to a meat shortage.
“What they are neglecting to tell folks is that this processing plant is critical infrastructure,” Noem told Ingraham.
“Regardless of a shelter-in-place order or not, it would have been up and running because it’s an important part of our nation’s food supply.
“So that’s what’s been happening on the national level. They have not been telling all the facts behind this.”
She added that two-thirds of the state has “no cases or one case in an entire county.”
“We are addressing the one hot spot that we do have and aggressively testing in that area,” she told Ingraham.
“The people of South Dakota can be trusted to make good decisions. We have common sense.
“That’s why people want to live here and that’s why I love living here.”
Protesters in Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Wyoming have marched recently against government restrictions.
A Change.org page has called for the end of the “tyrannical” measures.
Non-essential businesses and schools have been closed for weeks as the leaders continue to try to curb the spread of the virus, but many have argued the measures infringe on their liberty.
“Our Governor and her allies are infecting ALL of us with their radical, progressive agenda,” a group in Michigan wrote, directing their anger at Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
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“There is NO reasoned and public plan to promote our overall physical and economic health!
“Dope stores? Open. Abortion clinics? Open. Churches? Shut down. Local businesses? Going broke!”
Nearly 700,000 people in the US have been infected with the coronavirus.
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