While most states across the country elected to shut down their state as a result of COVID-19, South Dakota went against the grid, allowing businesses to remain open and people to leave their homes.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem was not putting lives at risk as the mainstream media wants everyone to believe. She is looking out for the residents of her state in terms of both their health and their liberty.
Noem encouraged people to take safety precautions such as social distancing, remote learning and teleworking. She is also encouraging employers to bring work back to the workplace but encourages sanitation practices. However, she is leaving the decision up to the residents as she will not mandate a lockdown or force people to go back to working in the workplace.
“I am not announcing new government programs, more red tape, proscriptive phases, tight controls, or anything like that,” Noem said in a press conference. “The plan I am unveiling today continues to put the power of decision-making into the hands of the people – where it belongs.”
The governor emphasized the importance of giving citizens the freedom to make decisions for themselves. She believes that the residents of South Dakota will act responsibly during this pandemic.
“Ultimately it is the people themselves that are primarily responsible for their safety,” she said. “They are the ones who are entrusted expansive freedoms. They are free to exercise their rights to work, worship, and to play or to stay at home and to conduct social distancing.”
South Dakota, along with other states that did not shut down like Iowa and Arkansas, is a rural state. The population of the state is low, and it does not have a densely populated city like New York City.
South Dakota ranks only 41 in the country in terms of total confirmed cases with around 2,300 cases and 11 deaths. As stated before, the population of the state is low and spread out so it should be expected that they would not be as infected as other states except the mainstream media predicted South Dakota to be a “hot spot” for a coronavirus outbreak because they did not shut down.
“As governor, I did not dictate to the people of South Dakota,” Noem said. “I didn’t tell you what activities you could do, which ones were officially approved of or not approved of. I didn’t begin arresting or ticketing or fining individuals who are exercising their rights, nor am I going to do that today.”