Hutchinson: No local mask mandates when state's ends

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Cities won't be able to enforce their own mask mandates to curb the coronavirus when Arkansas ends its requirement as soon as next week, Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Tuesday.

Hutchinson told reporters he expected Arkansas' requirement to end March 31, saying the state has so far met the criteria for positive tests and hospitalizations that he set for the mandate's end. Hutchinson set the criteria when he lifted most of the state's virus restrictions last month.

The Republican governor said officials are still working on guidance for cities, employers and schools systems as it prepares to lift the mandate. Hutchinson said school districts will likely have a local option and businesses can have their own requirements, but cities couldn't have that option .

"We're going to go on this together," Hutchinson said at his weekly virus briefing. "One statewide standard is what I expect to announce next week."

Read more: https://www.texarkanagazette.com/news/arkansas/story/2021/mar/24/hutchinson-no-local-mask-mandates-when-states-ends/864617/