Governor Chris Sununu Pandering to COVID Denier Caucus

CONCORD, NH — Today Governor Chris Sununu once again made it clear he is unwilling to stand up to the COVID Denier Caucus, refusing to publicly call for universal masking or pursue options to ensure it, even though COVID cases are spiking in New Hampshire.

Statement from Granite State Progress Executive Director Zandra Rice Hawkins:

“Sununu is pandering to the most extreme COVID denier members of his party instead of standing up for public health. Medical professionals and public health experts have made it clear that universal masking helps slow the spread of COVID, yet Chris Sununu is sticking his head in the sand while local school boards and administrators take the heat for trying to protect students and community members. Meanwhile Granite Staters who are medically vulnerable or work in essential, front line jobs are put in jeopardy every day by those who refuse to get vaccinated or wear a mask. We need leadership but Sununu has shown us time and again that he cannot be trusted to put the health and safety of his constituents over his own partisan political agenda. Sununu’s lack of leadership is dangerous and will cost lives. We are on a collision course to be back in the same bad place we were at the start of COVID, with our economy and schools in turmoil while we lose all of the ground we had gained. Our families and economy cannot take any more of this and Sununu is out of touch if he thinks otherwise.”

Background: Asked about mask policies at a COVID press conference, Sununu responded that people have the information and can make their own decisions around masks, even as reports around the state show vocal anti-vaxxers and COVID deniers who refuse to mask disrupting school board meetings and shouting down local elected officials contemplating how to ensure student safety.

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