Governor Kay Ivey on Wednesday extended Alabama’s “Safer at Home” state health order until November 8, days after the 2020 general election.
The order includes a statewide mask mandate, which was first instituted by Ivey and State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris on July 15.
The mandate has already been extended multiple times; the original expiration date announced by Ivey was July 31.
Ivey and Harris announced the latest extension at a press conference inside the Alabama State Capitol, as the order was set to expire on Friday.
The only significant change being made to the order this time around is that patients/residents at nursing homes and hospitals will be allowed visits by one visitor or caregiver at a time effective Friday, October 2.
Read the updated State of Emergency proclamation here. You can view the latest “Safer at Home” order here.
The governor in her remarks on Wednesday said that the order was extended past Election Day in order to provide a safe in-person environment for voting on November 3.
She stressed that the mask requirement has worked for Alabama, as backed up by data and stated by Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator. Ivey commented that she hopes to transition back to relying on “personal responsibility” rather than a statewide mandate in the near future regarding facial coverings.
Ivey noted that Dr. Birx last week said “there’s no telling how many lives in Alabama have been saved because of this mask mandate.”
“There is no single magic answer” to when the mask mandate will end, Harris advised in his comments. He reiterated that the mask requirement has been effective, with COVID-19 data acting as evidence for that conclusion.
“Now I know that there are many people throughout this state who had hoped we would follow the lead of some other states who have removed the mask order,” Ivey acknowledged. “We’ve heard from a lot of you. And I hear you.”
“I look forward to being able to lift the mask order as much as you do, if not more,” she continued. “And hopefully that can be sooner, not later.”
“To those who want the masks to go away, I’m just asking you to continue to please, please be patient,” the governor added. “Be patient a little while longer. And y’all, just know I’m as tired of masks as anyone of you — maybe more than most.”
This is breaking news and will be updated.
Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
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