Hutchinson declares emergency, seeks to lift ban on school mask mandates

July 29, 2021 at 9:09 p.m. | Updated July 29, 2021 at 9:11 p.m.

by Andrew DeMillo, Associated Press

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson speaks during a town hall meeting July 15 in Texarkana, Ark. Facing growing vaccine hesitancy, governors in states hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic are asking federal regulators to grant full approval to the shots in the hope that will persuade more people to get them. The governors of Arkansas and Ohio have appealed in recent days for full approval as virus cases and hospitalizations skyrocket in their states.
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson speaks during a town hall meeting July 15 in Texarkana, Ark. Facing growing vaccine hesitancy, governors in states hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic are asking federal regulators to grant full approval to the shots in the hope that will persuade more people to get them. The governors of Arkansas and Ohio have appealed in recent days for full approval as virus cases and hospitalizations skyrocket in their states.

LITTLE ROCK - Arkansas' Republican governor said Thursday that he will call lawmakers back to the Capitol to consider lifting the state's ban on mask requirements in public schools as the state faces a surge in coronavirus cases.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson also reinstated an emergency declaration because of the virus, two months after he lifted the declaration he issued early on in the pandemic last year.

Hutchinson said he will call the majority-Republican Legislature into session likely next week to amend a state law that prohibits state and local government entities from requiring face masks. Hutchinson said he'll propose allowing local school boards to make the decision.

Arkansas' coronavirus cases have skyrocketed in recent weeks, fueled by the delta variant of the virus and the state's low vaccination rate. The state reported more than 2,800 new virus cases on Thursday. The state ranks second in the country for new virus cases per capita, according to Johns Hopkins University researchers.

Hutchinson and legislative leaders have faced growing calls to revisit the ban, at least for public schools. Hutchinson said he's proposing keeping the rest of the mask mandate ban in place and did not plan to call for another state mask requirement.

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