PIERRE, S.D. (KELO.com) — Governor Kristi Noem is pushing back against recent unflattering stories in USA Today and Forbes Magazine about the pandemic in South Dakota and the state’s response.
USA Today’s headline declares that The Dakotas are ‘as bad as it gets anywhere in the world’ for COVID-19, using a variety of statistics, and pointing out the lack of a mask mandate and other measures.
Noem’s office says the story is “unbelievably bad journalism” with a “profoundly untrue headline.”
Forbes reports that South Dakota is in the top ten riskiest states to visit because of the COVID surge, again citing statistics based on active cases.
Noem’s office says the narrative is “fictional.”
Noem’s Senior Advisor Maggie Seidel says it’s inaccurate to suggest that the virus is primarily hitting the Dakotas, and there is “zero science” to support claims that South Dakota’s surge is because the state doesn’t have a mask mandate.
The Republican governor has been traveling the country, preaching the gospel of personal responsibility as the best way to fight the coronavirus.
