SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO.com) — A group including South Dakota’s three largest hospital systems and the state medical association is urging South Dakotans to wear masks in public to slow the spread of COVID-19.
The group, supported by Sanford Health, Avera Health and Monument Health as well as the South Dakota State Medical Association promoted the hashtag #MaskUpSoDak to encourage the practice.
SDSMA president Dr. Benjamin Aaker said the group is focused on “what the individual person can do to help protect themselves, their family, their neighbors and the rest of South Dakota.”
Several South Dakota cities are considering mandating masks in indoor spaces. Sioux Falls City Councilor Curt Soehl plans to introduce a mandate to his colleagues for consideration on Tuesday. Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken is against the idea, saying it would stoke anti-mask resentment and be difficult to enforce. The Mask Up South Dakota group stopped short of recommending a mandate.
Asked by KELO.com News and others why they had arrived at that decision, Aaker said “this group feels that the best way to get the most people to wear their mask appropriately is by communicating with them directly.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends all Americans over the age of two wear masks in public.
(KELO.com News Director Todd Epp contributed to this report.)
