As Joe Biden and his coronavirus task force meet, there continue to be rumblings that four- to six-week lockdowns could be put in place to combat the virus. That idea doesn’t seem to be going over well in a number of states, including Mississippi, where Governor Tate Reeves says, “We’re not gonna participate in a nationwide lockdown.

“The people of Mississippi can’t just go home, shut down their small businesses, shut down their restaurants, shut down their gyms … and just think that you can come back six weeks from now, flip a switch and everything’s gonna be fine,” Reeves said during a news conference on Thursday. “That’s not the way the economy works.”

One of the advisors on Joe Biden’s coronavirus task force has floated the idea of the lockdowns, but Mississippi won’t have any part in that. “The fact is, we’re gonna try to work with whomever the president is, but we’re not gonna participate in a nationwide lockdown,” Reeves said, calling the idea of a new lockdown “totally and completely beyond reasonableness.”

Tate said that his youngest daughter tested positive for the COVID-19 virus this week, but she is doing well.

The governor did urge residents of his state to continue following health guidelines of social distancing, hand hygiene and mask wearing.

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem is another anti-lockdown leader, tweeting this out on Thursday: “Just like we said, Biden’s team wants lockdowns. We already know that lockdowns don’t stop the spread of the virus. However, they destroy small businesses and jobs, and they make it difficult for families to put food on the table.”

While South Dakota and Mississippi are solidifying their hands-off approach, states like Illinois, California and Vermont are releasing orders to cancel holiday plans for this year while implementing new rounds of restrictions.

Remember when they told us this was just going to be a four- to six-week flattening of the curve?

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