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Alabama governor extends pandemic rule requiring face masks

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  • FILE - In this July 29, 2020 file photo, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey announces the extension of a state order requiring face masks in public during a news conference in Montgomery, Ala. Ivey’s chief of staff is quarantining at home after his wife tested positive for COVID-19. Ivey spokeswoman Gina Maiola said Friday, Aug. 14, that Ivey’s Chief of Staff Jo Bonner does not have symptoms but is in quarantine at home. Photo: Kim Chandler, AP / Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
    FILE – In this July 29, 2020 file photo, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey announces the extension of a state order requiring face masks in public during a news conference in Montgomery, Ala. Ivey’s chief of staff is quarantining at home after his wife tested positive for COVID-19. Ivey spokeswoman Gina Maiola said Friday, Aug. 14, that Ivey’s Chief of Staff Jo Bonner does not have symptoms but is in quarantine at home. less
    FILE – In this July 29, 2020 file photo, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey announces the extension of a state order requiring face masks in public during a news conference in Montgomery, Ala. Ivey’s chief of staff is … more


    Photo: Kim Chandler, AP

FILE – In this July 29, 2020 file photo, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey announces the extension of a state order requiring face masks in public during a news conference in Montgomery, Ala. Ivey’s chief of staff is quarantining at home after his wife tested positive for COVID-19. Ivey spokeswoman Gina Maiola said Friday, Aug. 14, that Ivey’s Chief of Staff Jo Bonner does not have symptoms but is in quarantine at home. less
FILE – In this July 29, 2020 file photo, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey announces the extension of a state order requiring face masks in public during a news conference in Montgomery, Ala. Ivey’s chief of staff is … more



Photo: Kim Chandler, AP


MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Gov. Kay Ivey and health officials extended an order requiring face masks in public Wednesday, arguing that the requirement — while unpopular among many — has proven effective at helping control the state’s coronavirus outbreak.

The five-week extension, announced during a Capitol news conference, means the mask requirement will be in effect on Election Day and through much of the remaining high school and college football seasons.


Ending the mask ordinance could harm the state by leading to a “false sense of security,” Ivey said, and a “safe environment” is needed for in-person voting.

The mask rule, which took effect in mid-July, was set to expire Friday but will continue through Nov. 8 under a health order released by Ivey. It requires anyone over the age of 6 to wear masks in indoor public spaces and outdoors when it’s impossible to stay at least 6 feet (2 meters) away from others.



In a move aimed at combatting isolation among people in nursing homes and hospitals, residents and patients will now be allowed one visitor or caregiver at a time.

More than 2,500 people in Alabama have died of COVID-19, according to researchers from Johns Hopkins University, giving the state the nation’s 21st high death count. Alabama has reported 153,554 positive results out of 1.1 million tests for an overall positivity rate of 13.7%, according to the COVID Tracking Project.


But the illness caused by the new coronavirus has spread at a slower pace since the state enacted the

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