NH governor cancels outdoor inaugural ceremony, citing mask protests at his home
Armed protesters have been gathering outside New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu s home in the weeks since he issued a mask order.
Credit: AP
FILE - In this Nov. 3, 2020 file photograph, N.H. Gov. Chris Sununu wears a protective mask, due to the COVID-19 virus outbreak, at a polling station in Windham, N.H. New Hampshire joined three dozen other states, including the rest of New England, in enacting a statewide mask mandate as the coronavirus pandemic intensifies. Sununu issued an executive order requiring masks to be worn in public spaces, indoors or outside, when social distancing isn t possible, which goes into effect on Thursday Nov. 19, 2020. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)
Sununu cancels outdoor inauguration ceremony over protest concerns
FILE - In this Nov. 3, 2020 file photograph, N.H. Gov. Chris Sununu wears a protective mask, due to the COVID-19 virus outbreak, at a polling station in Windham, N.H. New Hampshire joined three dozen other states, including the rest of New England, in enacting a statewide mask mandate as the coronavirus pandemic intensifies. Sununu issued an executive order requiring masks to be worn in public spaces, indoors or outside, when social distancing isn t possible, which goes into effect on Thursday Nov. 19, 2020. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)
Modified: 12/30/2020 9:12:37 PM
CONCORD New Hampshire’s Republican governor said Wednesday that he is canceling his outdoor inauguration ceremony next month because of public safety concerns namely, armed protesters who have been gathering outside his home in the weeks since he issued a mask order.
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Alabama
Gadsden: The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Alabama topped 2,800 this week, as recent days have shown a steady climb and new record high inpatient counts – 2,804 on Tuesday – as the surge in cases continues. Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, the University of Alabama’s Division of Infectious Diseases director, said Alabama now is third in the nation in COVID-19 hospitalizations per capita, behind Nevada and Arizona. She said Alabama is sixth in the nation in the number of COVID-19 cases per capita, after falling out of the top 10. On Christmas Eve, the number hospitalized was 2,458 across the state; on Christmas Day and on Saturday, it was 2,516, according to statistics published by BamaTracker. On Sunday, the number rose to 2,631; and it jumped significantly by Monday, to 2,802 people hospitalized.
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Sununu issued an executive order that took effect Nov. 20 requiring masks to be worn in public spaces, indoors or outside, when social distancing isn’t possible because of the coronavirus pandemic.
He said at the time a mandate was appropriate, given the rising percentage of positive test results, the fact that the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 had doubled in the past two weeks, there were new outbreaks at five nursing homes, and an incredibly alarming rate of community transmission by people who aren’t showing symptoms. The order expires Jan. 15.
Follow RT on Governor Chris Sununu of New Hampshire has called off the planned inauguration ceremony for himself and other state officials, saying there was ‘too much risk’ after an armed protester was arrested outside his house.
“On Monday evening an armed individual trespassing in my backyard was arrested carrying two dozen rounds of ammunition,” Sununu said on Wednesday afternoon. “Cancelling our outdoor inaugural ceremonies was not a decision we made easily, but it was the right decision to ensure the safety of my family and the public.”
On Monday evening an armed individual trespassing in my backyard was arrested carrying two dozen rounds of ammunition. Cancelling our outdoor inaugural ceremonies was not a decision we made easily, but it was the right decision to ensure the safety of my family and the public. pic.twitter.com/wPzuHWgDFI Chris Sununu (@GovChrisSununu) December 30, 2020