TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Kate Prince on Jul 23, 2020

During his weekly press conference, Gov. Bill Lee today said he will not issue a mask mandate statewide, the Daily Memphian reports. Lee contends the best way to get people to wear a mask is to have buy-in. “And for mask-wearing to be sustainable, you’ve got to have buy-in, and a mandate is simply a mandate. It doesn’t equate to mask-wearing,” he said at his weekly press conference. “And there’s a great deal of trust in local leadership, so that targeted approach, we believe, is the best way to actually get people to engage in mask-wearing more effectively than a statewide, mask-wearing, one-size-fits-all mandate.” While refusing to order residents to wear masks, the governor launched an ad campaign Thursday urging people to put on masks in public to help fight the spread of COVID-19.