Thread by @ashtonpittman

With MS State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs standing behind him wearing a mask, Gov. Tate Reeves criticized reporter for wearing a mask despite being vaccinated.

"If you really want to virtue signal, why are you in this room? Why don't you go to your house & lock yourself up?"

Before Gov. Reeves described vaccinated people wearing masks as "virtue signaling," the state health officer encouraged masks for ALL, vax or not.

Dr. Dobbs: “The phase we are in now is the phase of doing things safely...It’s critical to wear masks in public & use common sense.”

Mississippi State Health Officer Dr. Dobbs: "We do know kids in a structured setting with masks on is the right thing to do to keep kids in schools longer."

Gov. Tate Reeves, minutes later: "I have no intention of issuing a statewide mask mandate in schools.”

Context: Across the state, entire school districts that began without mask mandates are shutting down after only a few days of classes.

Within a week after classes began at Pearl River Central High School, 40% of the student body was quarantined. mississippifreepress.org/14689/pearl-ri…

As COVID-19 tears through classrooms, Mississippi's only pediatric hospital is full, including with children on ventilators for COVID-19.

There are 0 ICU beds left statewide. MS's top medical center is erecting a tent hospital in its parking garage. mississippifreepress.org/14659/mississi…