Judge orders pause on Arkansas enforcing bans on mask mandates

The Republican Governor said he regretted signing a bill banning mask mandates as Covid cases surged

A judge in Arkansas has temporarily blocked the state’s Republican officials from enforcing a ban on mask mandates, allowing schools and public buildings to require face coverings to mitigate the risk of surging Covid-19 infections from the Delta variant.

Pulaski County Circuit Judge Tim Fox issued a preliminary injunction on Friday against the law that Gov Asa Hutchinson signed in April banning mask requirements by governmental entities, the Associated Press reported.

The ban was being challenged by two lawsuits, including one from an east Arkansas school district where more than 900 staff and students are quarantining because of a coronavirus outbreak.

The judge ruled the law violates Arkansas’ constitution, saying it discriminates between public and private school students.

He said it also infringes on the governor’s emergency powers, as well as the authority of county officials and the state Supreme Court, and “cannot be enforced in any shape, fashion or form”.

Gov Hutchinson said he regretted signing the ban and had been trying to modify it as Covid cases and hospitlisations surged in the state, adding changes were needed to protect children under 12 who couldn’t get vaccinated.

But he faced heavy opposition from fellow Republicans, who had been inundated with calls and messages from opponents of masks in schools.

After the decision was released, Gov Hutchinson said he agreed with the judge’s decision but didn’t plan to go as far as reimposing statewide mask mandate he lifted in March.

He also criticised lawmakers who opposed taking action, saying many of them had taken a “casual, if not cavalier, attitude” toward the state’s Covid-19 crisis.

“What concerns me is many are simply listening to the loudest voices and not standing up with compassion, common sense and serious action,” he told reporters.

There had been growing calls to lift the ban before school starts statewide later this month.

The Marion School District, which joined with Little Rock’s schools in challenging the ban, on Friday said 949 staff and students have had to quarantine since classes began last week because of a Covid-19 outbreak.

The district said 54 students and 11 staff have tested positive for Covid-19.

Marion Superintendent Glen Fenter warned lawmakers that his district’s experience could be a harbinger of what other schools will face.

He said Friday he will consult with attorneys and will begin discussing the possibility of a mandate with the local school board.

“This gives us another opportunity again to potentially protect our students,” he said.

Pediatricians and health officials have said masks in schools are needed to protect children, as the Delta variant and Arkansas’ low vaccination rate fuels the state’s spiraling cases.

The state on Monday reported its largest one-day increase in Covid-19 hospitalisations since the pandemic began, and the Department of Health on Friday said only 28 intensive care unit beds were available in the state.

Only 37 percent of the state’s population is fully vaccinated against the virus.

Arkansas ranks second in the country for new cases per capita, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University researchers.

The state reported more than 3,000 new virus cases on Friday, bringing its total since the pandemic began to more than 400,000. It also reported 22 new Covid-19 deaths.

Arkansas is among several Republican-led states that banned mask mandates, and GOP figures nationally have been criticizing efforts to require them in schools despite revised Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.

Some school districts in Florida and Arizona are defying their state’s prohibitions and requiring masks.

Opponents of lifting Arkansas’ ban who testified before the Legislature repeatedly cited false and discredited claims about the virus, including a woman who falsely suggested Covid-19 doesn’t exist.

“That’s what’s frustrating, is we’re not making decisions on data, respected data,” Democratic Rep Denise Garner, who co-sponsored one of two proposals rejected by a House panel that would have allowed some schools to require masks.

The Associated Press contributed to reporting