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Letter: COVID-19 surges are in states with mask mandates, not without them

SHARE Letter: COVID-19 surges are in states with mask mandates, not without them
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MabelAnn Moses, left, and her sister, Atlantis Moses, wear masks while walking in downtown Salt Lake City on Wednesday, March 24, 2021.

Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

Some states now have ended their statewide masks mandates, but the president, and others, have urged them to reinstate masks mandates because of the recent upsurge that our nation has seen in COVID-19 cases. Yes, indeed we have seen an upsurge nationally but in the last two weeks (according to CNN), the infection rates observed from three of these states are: Texas down 15%, Florida up 14% and Mississippi down 49%.

Obviously, beyond my comprehension, the president, and others, are looking at the bigger picture where we observe the top four upsurges in states: Michigan, up 114%; Connecticut, up 67%; Vermont, up 60%; New York, up 57%; and Pennsylvania, up 56%.

Who would have guessed that lifting masks mandates in Texas, Florida, Mississippi and elsewhere would cause such a drastic upsurge in so many distant states? I am looking forward to the studies explaining how lifting masks mandates in one state can have such a drastic effect on states hundreds, even thousands, of miles away from a state’s borders.

Jack Scherbel

Ogden