As governors across the country fell into line in recent weeks, South Dakota Gov. Kristi L. Noem stood firm: There would be no statewide order to stay home. wapo.st/3a21qSI
Now South Dakota is home to one of the largest single coronavirus clusters anywhere in the United States, with more than 300 workers at a giant pork-processing plant falling ill. wapo.st/3ekjWsT
Noem continued to resist calls for a shelter-in-place order. Instead, she used a briefing Monday to announce trials of a drug President Trump has touted as a potential breakthrough in the fight against covid-19, despite a lack of scientific evidence. wapo.st/3ekjWsT
The piecemeal approach to combating the coronavirus in South Dakota offers a throwback to America’s not-so-distant past, the period around a month ago when governors were still leery of using their powers to order people to stay at home. wapo.st/3ekjWsT
It also may offer a glimpse of the country’s near-term future, as pressure builds — not least from the president — to reopen after a weeks-long shutdown. Trump has been eager to get the economy on its feet again by the beginning of May. wapo.st/3ekjWsT
Yet as South Dakota’s experience shows, no part of the country is immune to being ravaged by the virus. And rescinding orders that people stay at home — or declining to issue them — offers plenty of peril. wapo.st/3ekjWsT
