AR Gov. Hutchinson: ‘Projections and Modeling’ Have ‘Lost a Lot of Credibility’

On Monday’s broadcast of CNN’s “Situation Room,” Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) stated that while his state has seen a “second spike” of cases, it is difficult to know “exactly where these projections are going.” Because projections and modeling have lost a significant amount of credibility. He also stated the spike is “fairly modest compared to where we are in a lot of other hot spots.”

Hutchinson stated, “Well, we’re taking significant action in both opening up our economy, which we never shut down, but also gradually lifting restrictions so we can measure where there is an outbreak or a problem that we have to address. And so, when I said that there’s a second spike that we’re seeing, it’s really hard to know exactly where these projections are going. The projections and modeling [have] lost a lot of credibility. And so, we’re having to dig deep into the data. We’re having to dig deep as to where these cases are, what’s causing those, and that’s what we’re concentrating on. And whenever you look at our numbers, our numbers are very modest, low death rate, compared to other states. We have — our hospitalizations are still less than 100. And so, even though we saw a second spike, it’s fairly modest compared to where we are in a lot of other hot spots. But we have a lot of work to do left. And I know there’s been a lot of coverage, Wolf, about the summer and everybody getting out. It is Memorial Day. We had a service today in Arkansas, socially distanced, wearing masks, the right-sized crowds.”

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