Mississippi Governor Reeves Reopens State, Cancels Mask Ban

JACKSON, MS – Mississippi Governor John Tate Reeves today declared an end to his state’s business restrictions related to COVID-19 and canceled all mask wearing mandates effective Wednesday.

“Starting tomorrow, we are lifting all of our county mask mandates and businesses will be able to operate at full capacity without any state-imposed rules. Our hospitalizations and case numbers have plummeted, and the vaccine is being rapidly distributed. It is time,” Reeves said.

Reeves said the time is now to get his state back to normal.

Mississippi getting back to normal, drops mask mandate

“We need to recognize that none of these orders, in any state, are anything short of unprecedented. They have to end at the earliest possible moment. This is that moment for Mississippi,” he said.

Reeves said executive orders are ruining lives and jobs across the country and is proud that his state didn’t go as far as other states such as California, New York, New Jersey and Michigan which are still in extremely restrictive anti-business lockdowns.

Businesses reopen in Mississippi

“We’ve been among the 4 or 5 most open states throughout this crisis, and we’ve been rewarded for it with more jobs and economic recovery. That’s not because what we put in place was a light burden. It’s only because the rest of the country was so harsh,” he added. “Executive orders that interfered with peoples’ lives were the worst, but the only possible, intervention for much of the last year. Now, we are putting our focus on rapid vaccine distribution. We are getting out of the business of telling people what they can and cannot do.”