Speaking at a Republican fundraiser this Thursday, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves says the reason some people in the South don’t take as many precautions against COVID-19 is because their religiosity makes them less scared of the virus.
“I’m often asked by some of my friends on the other side of the aisle about COVID … and why does it seem like folks in Mississippi and maybe in the Mid-South are a little less scared, shall we say,” Reeves said, according to the Daily Memphian.
“When you believe in eternal life — when you believe that living on this earth is but a blip on the screen, then you don’t have to be so scared of things,” he said, adding that “God also tells us to take necessary precautions.”
“And we all have opportunities and abilities to do that and we should all do that. I encourage everyone to do so. But the reality is that working together, we can get beyond this. We can move forward. We can move on,” he said.
The Daily Memphian reports that although the event was held outside, there was little social distancing.
