November 20, 2020 ☼ noem ☼ south-dakota ☼ pandemic
Source: NPR - Link
One of America’s governors most skeptical about COVID-19 has been South Dakota’s Kristi Noem. She’s loudly refused to impose any shutdowns or a statewide mask mandate.
Noem’s devotion to keeping her state open has made her a celebrity in the Republican Party.
She campaigned for President Trump in 17 states, and touted her own record along the way.
“What I did in South Dakota is what we say Republicans always believe,” Noem says. “We just did it. We just did it, and look at what is happening in our state.”
One of the things happening in South Dakota is an infection rate that’s among the worst in the nation, at about 8,000 cases per 100,000 people.
Noem got away with the disease and death rates because South Dakota does not have a very large population. If it had been more dense she’d be facing criminal charges.