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 Alabama’s mask order, which had been due to expire on Friday, will
now stay in effect until April 9, Republican Governor Kay Ivey told
a news briefing.
“After that, it’ll be personal responsibility,” the 76-year-old
governor said, adding she would wear her mask beyond that date.
"Folks, we’re not there yet, but goodness knows we’re getting
closer."
Many U.S. states and major cities, seeing a sharp decline in
coronavirus infections and hospitalizations, have begun to ease
unprecedented lockdowns and business closures imposed a year ago.
"While I'm convinced that a mask mandate has been the right thing to
do, I also respect those who object, and believe that this was a
step too far in government overreach," Ivey said in setting April 9
as the final day that face protections will be mandatory.
Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott's decision to lift that
state's mask order and allow most businesses to reopen has been
criticized by the administration of President Joe Biden.
"The last thing, the last thing we need is Neanderthal thinking
that, 'In the meantime, everything's fine, take off your mask,
forget it.' It still matters," the Democratic president aid on
Wednesday.
As of Thursday, 34 U.S. states, along with the District of Columbia
and Puerto Rico, still mandate that residents wear masks in public.
Mississippi also lifted its face-covering order on Tuesday.
About 45,000 COVID-19 patients were being treated in U.S. hospitals
as of Wednesday night, compared with a peak of about 132,000 on Jan.
6.
'NOW IS NOT THE TIME'
The improving metric may be due in part to growing numbers of
Americans who have been inoculated with one of two vaccines approved
for emergency use late last year by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration. A third authorized vaccine, manufactured by Johnson
& Johnson, began going into arms this week.
Despite the declining number of infections and hospitalizations,
Biden and other leaders have urged Americans to keep wearing masks
until the virus has been fully tamped down.
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 "Now is not the time to pull
back," Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top
infectious disease official and Biden's COVD-19
medical adviser, told MSNBC on Thursday.
"We were going in the right direction. Now is
the time to keep the foot on the accelerator and
not pull off," he said, referring to the
announcements in Texas and Mississippi.
Abbott on Thursday defended his decision, which
takes effect next Wednesday, saying that
residents of Texas were still encouraged to wear
face coverings and take other precautions.
"Before now, there actually has not been any enforcement of the mask
requirement," Abbott told CNBC. "We continue to make wearing a mask
a suggestion, and we urge all Texans to wear a mask when they are
out."
Texas, Mississippi and Alabama are near the bottom of the list of
states in the number of vaccines administered per capita, according
to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The three states are also near the top of the list in the percentage
of people who test positive for COVID-19, according to the Johns
Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.
California Governor Gavin Newsom said on Thursday the state would
set aside 40% of its COVID-19 vaccine doses for the hardest-hit
communities and establish a "vaccine equity metric," to make sure
that inoculations are conducted fairly.
Ivey also lifted indoor dining restrictions on restaurants and said
summer camps could plan to reopen. She is also permitting senior
centers to resume outdoor programs and increase their maximum number
of visitors to two from one.
Among the improvements she cited was a 77% drop in COVID-19
hospitalizations from a Jan. 11 peak to the lowest level since last
June.
(Reporting by Susan Heavey and Jeff Mason in Washington, Barbara
Goldberg, Caroline Humer and Peter Szekely in New York and Dan
Whitcomb in Los Angeles; Editing by Bill Berkrot and Peter Cooney)
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