KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Since the beginning of the pandemic, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has shown opposition for mandates meant to stop the spread of COVID-19, and has instead encouraged "personal responsibility" from Missourians.
During a press conference on Friday, Parson said his stance on mandates hasn't changed and said he hopes leaders will stop politicizing mask mandates.
On Wednesday, Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Quinton Lucas announced he'd reinstate an indoor mask mandate beginning Monday.
This prompted a Twitter feud between Lucas and Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, something Parson said he doesn't care for.
"This back and forth stuff, that's not my cup of tea," he said. "The mask mandate, that was in political news a year ago, it's going right back to that political issue, we just need to get away from that and talk about the vaccine."
Instead of implementing mandates, Parson said the focus should be on encouraging Missourians to get vaccinated.
"The problem I think we are, is what we're doing right now, we're talking about mask mandates, when we should be talking about the vaccine," he said.
