After a brief lull, the pandemic is roaring back, although it’s not the entire nation that’s suffering the same levels of crisis. Cases are for the most part rising in Republican-led states whose leaders and residents have refused to take it seriously, even as it claims their own. It’s unlikely that governors Ron DeSantis, of Florida, and Greg Abbott, of Texas — who actually tested positive — are going to change course, even with ever-alarming numbers. But one MAGA-heavy state has resorted to desperate — and hopefully game-changing — measures.
As per NBC News, things have gotten so bad in Mississippi that the state’s Department of Health has threatened fines and even jail time to anyone who tests positive for COVID and doesn’t quarantine for at least 10 days. Failure to do so could result in one of two forms of punishment:
Failure to do so could result in fines and jail time. Dobbs’ order mentions two possible levels of violation. One, a refusal to obey a health officer, comes with a $500 fine and, possibly, six months behind bars.
But the order says that where a life-threatening disease is involved in a refusal to obey, violators could face a fine of up to $5,000 and possibly five years behind bars.
How will people who think freedom means potentially exposing people to a life-threatening disease take this? Probably not well. But according to The Daily Beast, cases are currently “staggering.” On Friday, the state reached 5,048 new cases — a pandemic record. If even a state as red as Mississippi is willing to this extreme to save lives, then other, similar states could follow suit. Though probably not Florida or Texas. Of course, there’s a simple way to avoid most of this: get a vaccine.
(Via NBC News)