Source: Politics<\/p>\n
As the Covid-19 pandemic approaches its third year in the United States, governors are forced to grapple with its long-term effects on society while still grappling with its evolving nature and maintain an eye on a coterie of other challenges.<\/p>\n
Reporters from POLITICO\u2019s newsroom interviewed five governors as part of Friday\u2019s \u201cThe Fifty: America\u2019s Governors\u201d live event, to discuss the issues in their states and their administrations’ relationship to the federal government.<\/p>\n
Here’s what the governors had to say:<\/p>\n
Though effective vaccines have been widely available throughout the country for most of last year, the virus continues to disrupt society \u2014 particularly with the emergence of the Omicron variant in recent months.<\/p>\n
The five governors \u2014 three Democrats and two Republicans \u2014 have each taken different approaches, and each acknowledged the evolving balance of weighing available options with what constituents and elected officials will accept.<\/p>\n
Louisiana\u2019s John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, defended his refusal to institute a statewide mask mandate and noted that localities were allowed to impose their own rules. Republican Utah Gov. Spencer Cox likewise stood by his decision this month to exempt state facilities from local mask requirements even as case numbers spike.<\/p>\n
Cox said he\u2019s long been a proponent of high-quality masks, but said mandates haven\u2019t proven sufficient to curb case surges elsewhere and the focus should instead be on other tools.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone gets their turn in the top 10 when it comes to Omicron,\u201d Cox said.<\/p>\n
Cox said hospitalizations is a more critical metric for policymakers and health officials to closely monitor than raw case numbers. New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, also a Republican, made a similar point, noting that not all at-home tests are reported to the government \u2014 even if the results are positive \u2014 among other considerations.<\/p>\n
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said it\u2019s \u201cvitally important\u201d to keep schools open safely through public safety measures such as masking, testing and vaccinations.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know we can keep our schools open,\u201d said Pritzker, a Democrat whose largest school district \u2014 Chicago \u2014 recently faced a crisis over this very issue.<\/p>\n
Sununu said the pandemic\u2019s disruption to schools, and society more generally, has weighed heavily on children\u2019s educational development and well-being.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe biggest issue with kids is mental health,\u201d the GOP governor said.<\/p>\n
Democratic Hawaii Gov. David Ige said his state has been on the \u201cforefront\u201d of climate change and resiliency issues, particularly given the archipelago\u2019s \u201cunique\u201d situation in the middle of the Pacific.<\/p>\n
He touted his state\u2019s commitment to transition entirely to renewable energy and establish a commission tasked with studying adaptation strategies. Ige said that if action is not taken in the coming years, it would necessitate putting even more drastic actions on the table.<\/p>\n
Cox said his state, like other parts of the West, have been wrestling with severe droughts and water shortages.<\/p>\n
The Utah governor said he believes it will be important to try to combat the problem along multiple fronts \u2014 including efforts to ensure places are \u201cconserving water and storing water for future generations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cox said such preparations are particularly needed in fast-growing parts of the region, so as to meet that demand while not stifling economic development.<\/p>\n