ARKANSAS TO REQUIRE MASKS

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson issued an order Thursday requiring people to wear face masks in public throughout the state, which has had a surge in coronavirus cases over the past several weeks.

The Republican governor had resisted a statewide mask mandate and opposed issuing a stay-at-home order earlier in the pandemic, but he signed the order in the hopes of slowing the disease’s rapid spread. The order takes effect Monday.