Arkansas judge blocks state from enforcing mask mandate ban [View all]

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By ANDREW DeMILLO

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — An Arkansas judge on Friday temporarily blocked the state from enforcing its ban on mask mandates after lawmakers left the prohibition in place despite a rising number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.

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

Fox ruled against the measure on multiple grounds, including the argument that it discriminated between public and private schools.

The law “cannot be enforced in any shape, fashion or form” pending further court action, Fox said.



FILE - In this July 29, 2021 file photo, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson stands next to a chart displaying COVID-19 hospitalization data as he speaks at a news conference at the state Capitol in Little Rock, Ark. Arkansas lawmakers are leaving the state's mask mandate ban in place, ending a special session called to revisit the prohibition for schools because of the state's COVID-19 surge. The majority-Republican Legislature on Friday, Aug. 6, adjourned the session that GOP Gov. Hutchinson had called to consider rolling back the ban for some schools. (AP Photo/Andrew DeMillo)


Read more: https://apnews.com/article/health-arkansas-coronavirus-pandemic-d79a14a84f0c7ba3bd6d8b3cf4039404