Arkansas to require face masks to combat coronavirus surge

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson issued an order Thursday requiring people to wear face masks in public throughout the state, which has had a surge in coronavirus cases over the past several weeks.

The Republican governor had resisted a statewide mask mandate and opposed issuing a stay-at-home order earlier in the pandemic, but he announced the order requiring masks when social distancing isn't possible in the hopes of slowing the disease's rapid spread in the state. The order takes effect Monday.

Hutchinson said the state's rising cases, hospitalizations and deaths show that more needs to be done to combat the virus' spread. He also said adults needs to set the right example for the state's schoolchildren, many of whom will be required to wear masks when in-person classes resume next month.

“This whole fight against COVID-19 is likely to get harder and not easier, and we have to meet the challenge together. Everyone must do their part," Hutchinson said. “This is a way to enlist the support of everyone in this fight."

Hutchinson’s decision comes amid growing support for mask requirements from business and health leaders and a day after Bentonville-based Walmart said it would require customers to wear masks in all of its U.S. stores. The state’s largest newspaper, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, also called for a statewide requirement on Thursday.

Hutchinson previously encouraged people to wear masks and allowed cities to pass ordinances requiring their use, but he stopped short of requiring them statewide. He’s the latest Republican governor to relent on the mask issue in the face of a surge in COVID-19 cases. Alabama's governor issued a similar mask mandate on Wednesday.

Arkansas' coronavirus cases have dramatically risen since May, when the state began allowing businesses that had...