Alabama’s statewide mask mandate to curb the coronavirus is being extended to April 9 — but it won’t be extended after that, Gov. Ha detto Kay Ivey giovedì.
Ivey’s remark came as she announced that the state’s broader “Safer at Home” ordine, which includes the mask mandate and other measures, would be extended until the evening of April 9 instead of expiring Monday, as previously scheduled.
Ivey said this will be the last time she’s extending the masking portion of the order. After April 9, Alabama will join almeno 16 altri stati in not having a statewide face-covering mandate.
“While I’m convinced that a mask mandate has been the right thing to do, I also respect those who object and believe this was a step too far in government overreach,” Ivey said in a news conference in Montgomery on Thursday.
Ivey’s announcement came as Texas and Mississippi said this week that they were abandoning statewide or county-level mask mandates. Inoltre, those states said they were allowing businesses to operate at 100% capacità.
Ivey said masks have been the greatest tool in combating the virus. tuttavia, she said it was time to make this a personal responsibility rather than a government mandate.
Ivey, who said she will continue to wear a mask in public, urged businesses to decide what their own masking policies will be after April 9.
Alabama’s mask mandate generally requires people to wear face coverings in public when within 6 feet of another person not from the same household.
The broader “Safer at Home” order also subjects certain businesses to social distancing guidelines and generally encourages people to minimize travel. The latest extension eliminates party-size limits at restaurant tables, but mandates 6 feet of space between tables.
