Governor Evers Has No Plans to Issue Another Statewide Mask Mandate

Wednesday, August 4th, 2021 -- 12:00 PM

(WMTV) During a Tuesday news conference, in which he compared masking up to driving the speed limit, Gov. Tony Evers said he has no plans to issue another statewide mask mandate.

The governor said his hands are tied by the Supreme Court and we as a society have to decide what’s more important: individual freedom or the common good of the people.

“I hear people talk about freedom, and freedom to make that choice, but you know, there’s all sorts of times where we collectively as a society decide there’s something more important than individual freedom, and that is the common good of the state or the nation,” Evers said.

Gov. Evers added that we already make the decision to protect the state when it comes to driving. “We do that with cars. We have speed limits. We require people to drive on the correct side of the road. There’s many times we do this as community members, and as members of the state of Wisconsin and this country.”

The last mask mandate implemented by Gov. Evers was struck down by the State Supreme Court in March. The court ruled in a 4-3 decision that the governor and state health officials overstepped their emergency powers by extending the state’s Safer at Home mandates, which included a mask requirement.

Health officials at the local level still have the freedom to implement their own masking policies. As the Delta variant drives a surge in COVID-19 cases across the state, health officials are echoing the CDC’s latest masking guidelines.

Dane Co. and Rock Co. health officials are now recommending people wear masks in indoor, public spaces as both of their transmission rates are listed as “substantial,” according to the CDC’s map.

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