Press "Enter" to skip to content

White House Says Tennessee Must Mandate Masks; So If Coronavirus Is Even Worse in South Dakota…

According to the latest White House Coronavirus Task Force weekly report to the states (which Governor Kristi Noem is concealing from South Dakotans), coronavirus is so bad in Tennessee that the White House has advised that “a statewide mask mandate must be implemented to stop the increasing spread among residents in rural and urban areas of Tennessee.”

How bad can coronavirus be in Tennessee that even the White House is saying the state must mandate masks… and is South Dakota in any better shape?

  1. The White House says Tennessee had 184 new cases per 100K population last week, the tenth highest rate in the nation. South Dakota’s new case rate last week was 418 per 100K population, second highest in the U.S.
  2. New cases in Tennessee last week rose 41%. New cases in South Dakota rose 24%.
  3. Tennessee’s test positivity rate last week ran between 5.0% and 7.9%, 18th highest in the U.S. South Dakota’s test positivity rate last week was 10.5%, sixth highest.
  4. 17% of Tennessee nursing homes had at least one coronavirus case among residents, and 39% had at least one case among staff. Those case percentages in South Dakota nursing homes: 16% and 41%.
  5. 7% of Tennessee nursing homes had at least one resident die from coronavirus last week. 10% of South Dakota nursing homes suffered such a loss.
  6. Tennessee’s coronavirus deaths rose 32% from the previous week. South Dakota’s rose 90%.
  7. Tennessee’s death rate from coronavirus per 100K population last week was 3.2. South Dakota’s was 4.5.
White House Coronavirus Task Force, report for Tennessee, 2020.10.11; posted by WUOT Radio, 2020.10.16
White House Coronavirus Task Force, report for Tennessee, 2020.10.11; posted by WUOT Radio, 2020.10.16</caption]

[caption id="attachment_57229" align="aligncenter" width="762"]White House Coronavirus Task Force, report for South Dakota, 2020.10.11; posted by KELO-TV, 2020.10.16. White House Coronavirus Task Force, report for South Dakota, 2020.10.11; posted by KELO-TV, 2020.10.16.

Coronavirus is bad in Tennessee; it appears to be at least as bad, if not worse, in South Dakota.

If the White House says Tennessee needs a mask mandate, is it also saying South Dakota needs a mask mandate?

*     *      *

Bonus Puzzle! WUOT Radio of Tennessee appears to have broken the story yesterday of the White House’s recommendation that Tennessee mandate masks. WUOT posts the Tennessee portion of the October 11 White House report to show the exact language:

WHCTF Tennesee - WUOT screen cap 20201017
WHCTF Tennesee – WUOT screen cap 2020.10.17

KELO-TV links to a PDF of the full report for all 50 states. But strangely, when I scroll down to page 253 to read the Tennessee section, I find KELO-TV’s copy of the White House report does not include the language in WUOT’s saying Tennessee must implement a statewide mask mandate:

WHCTF Tennessee report - KELO screen cap 20201017
WHCTF Tennessee report – KELO screen cap 2020.10.17

KELO-TV’s copy does include strong mask language in several other states’ reports:

  • “Alabama must continue the strong mitigation efforts statewide. Mitigation efforts should continue to include mask wearing, physical distancing, hand hygiene, avoiding crowds in public and social gatherings in private, and ensuring flu immunizations.”(See similar language to Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota….)
  • “Retail establishments are enforcing mitigation efforts by adjusting their businesses so very few transmissions occur in those settings; the majority of cases are from interactions at home with friends and family. Arkansans should know that such gatherings must be limited in size and include both masks and social distancing.” (See also Kansas, Kentucky, Nevada….)
  • “Indiana has previously had success in large part due to a well-developed, gradated set of social distancing measures for communities based on transmission indicators. The extension of the mask mandate is commended.”
  • “New Hampshire has been very successful with limiting transmission due to a well-designed set of gradated mitigation measures and enhanced disease control capacity including expanded testing and contact tracing capacity. The increased disease activity now reflects increased disease activity similar to the situation seen in comparably less populated states such as Montana, Wyoming, and the Dakotas several weeks ago. Enhanced mitigation measures such as a statewide mask mandate and increased public education about social distancing even in family settings could help limit further increases in morbidity and mortality that are otherwise likely.”
  • “Michigan has been very successful with limiting transmission and disease thanks to a well-designed set of gradated mitigation measures and enhanced disease control capacity, including expanded testing. The current upsurge can be controlled with increased mitigation and strong community support in implementing these social distancing measures. Public health measures to limit gathering sizes, require face coverings in public spaces, and limit capacity in stores, bars, and other public venues can help address the epidemic challenges.”

But why is the newsworthy mandate language about Tennessee, language quoted by the Associated Press, missing from KELO-TV’s copy?

10 Comments

  1. Jenny 2020-10-17 19:06

    Good Lord SD, are you just going to sit there and have your Governor lie to you and say things are going great with regards to Covid?

    I expect Kristi and members of her Staff to get Covid eventually this winter with all the running around the country she does without a mask. Maybe getting sick would humble her up a bit.
    It’s okay Christians, wearing a mask is not going against the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus would want you to be safe and to practice social distancing.

  2. D C 2020-10-17 19:33

    Where is the rest of the story, someone reworking releases!!! This is very concerning!! 2 sets of documents, what about SD and ND, have been in the top 5 for Covid spread, last 2 weeks!! All good here, very few people, don’t need to worry about them!!!

  3. Mike Livingston 2020-10-17 20:43

    I guess it is not the rootin tootin six gun shootin cow girl rodeo queen way. I spose we should stuff it in our happy pants and suck it up, after all she is pretty busy making South Dakota a laughing stock live on Fox TV.

    That is the problem, none of the republicants have heard about it because Fox isn’t carrying it.

  4. ds 2020-10-17 22:43

    Here an article accessible from MSN, The Washington Post scoop detailing the un-reported SUPER SPREADER Sturgis Rally:
    https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/how-the-sturgis-motorcycle-rally-may-have-spread-coronavirus-across-the-upper-midwest/ar-BB1a7VkP?li=BBorjTa&ocid=U508DHP.

    Thank you mask-denier Kristi for enabling and indeed promoting the huge spike of permanent health complications and deaths.
    Worth posting again:
    THE WRITTEN WORD ACCORDING TO HE IN THE
    WHITE HOUSE AND HER IN THE CAPITOL BUILDING:
    Verily WE chosen by the ALMIGHTY to lead you, say to you: follow us without delay. Cast down your fears of this virus and walk lockstep behind us. Believe not the false prophets called scientist who propagate lies. AS we march closer and closer to the precipice edge of the cliff, gather tight to us. Cast off your worthless mask and breathe deeply the cloud of our voices. Fear not the dark visions of evil speakers, those that profess knowledge are liars and demons. At the edge of the cliff you will spread your God given wings and fly like angels immune from danger. You will be rejuvenated and pumped up to wondrous power and become 20 years younger with our Holy medicines.
    And as you plummet to the rocks below know well that your fall from grace is written in your lack of faith and only those CHOSEN by the Almighty will survive.

  5. Dan B 2020-10-18 09:03

    Governor I don’t Know(em) what I’m doing needs to be recalled and removed. What an absolute failure she has proven to be……

  6. Buckobear 2020-10-18 11:43

    We cannot trust anything coming out of Pierre.

  7. Observer 2020-10-18 19:38

    Tennessee?

    What does Governor Noem care about Tennessee? She should read the recommendations for South Dakota:

    • …adherence to face covering and social distancing wanes; educational efforts should include strategies to address this shift.

    • Adequate surveillance is extremely important as cases rise.

    • Continue to closely monitor hospital and ICU utilization, resources, and capacity at the local level; feature data on local websites and use data to inform local mitigation policies and efforts.

    …intensify mitigation efforts where case rates are elevated and test positivity is increasing, urging social distancing and using face coverings

    …emphasizing critical need for face coverings and social distancing to protect the most vulnerable..

    • Specific, detailed guidance on community mitigation measures can be found on the CDC website

  8. mike from iowa 2020-10-18 20:15

    She should read the recommendations for South Dakota:

    But she’s not there. Let me tell you about the way she looked, the way she acts and the color of her hair.

    Sorry, I got carried away there.

  9. Debbo 2020-10-18 21:03

    She really is just as bad as Mass Murderer and she’s taking down SD without a backward glance.

    I don’t understand why South Dakotans are so willing to be carelessly cast aside by their governor as if they were filthy old slop rags tossed on the floor.

  10. DaveFN 2020-10-19 17:40

    The South Dakota Municipal League wrote a letter to Noem in April indicating that “COVID-19 certainly meets the definition under SDCL 34-22-41 as an “imminent threat of an
    illness, health condition, or widespread exposure to an infectious or toxic agent that poses a
    significant risk of substantial harm to the affected population.”

    On their website there is a ‘South Dakota Department of Health Declaration DRAFT (requested language)’ dated April 2020 by SD Secretary of Health Kim Malsam-Rysdon.

    Is this latter document YET in draft form, or is it listed as DRAFT due to poor website maintenance?

    https://www.sdmunicipalleague.org/index.asp?SEC=1ED65A9F-BE0E-4D36-ACE7-189FF099DABB&DE=2BC203AE-77C3-4132-BCF4-10C7C7742DFF

Comments are closed.