Mississippi Governor Clarifies Order Defining Most Businesses as Essential
Source: New York Times
Mississippi Governor Clarifies Order Defining Most Businesses as Essential
Gov. Tate Reeves issued a supplement to an executive order about essential businesses, saying it was a standard for local leaders, who had already issued their own.
By Christine Hauser
March 26, 2020
Days after issuing an executive order that broadly defined most businesses as essential during the coronavirus shutdown, Gov. Tate Reeves of Mississippi said on Thursday that it was not meant to interfere with decisions made by local governments.
Governor Reeves signed the order on Tuesday, saying that essential businesses should be allowed to stay open, with some limitations, during the coronavirus shutdown. It offered a broad list of such businesses, including some that were exempt from limits on gatherings of more than 10 people as long as they took into account reasonable measures, such as social distancing and sending sick employees home.
After widespread criticism, Governor Reeves said on Thursday that he would issue a supplemental notice saying that the order was intended as a floor statewide for local governments to follow.
Some cities and counties in the state had already imposed their own more narrow restrictions regarding which businesses were considered essential, leading to confusion about how the state order would be executed.
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The executive order defines essential businesses as those involved in public safety, including emergency medical workers and health care operations and facilities. It also includes laundromats and home and auto repair. Restaurants and bars were also considered essential and could provide dine-in services, but they were not allowed to have more than 10 customers at a time in seating areas or other indoor spaces.
The list included nearly every type of business, including financial and religious institutions, and real estate services. On Twitter, the governor said he rejected dictatorship models like China in his approach to the order, which in some cases appeared, in effect, to overturn local orders put into place by local governments.
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Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/26/us/mississippi-coronavirus-essential-businesses-tate-reeves.html