The Montgomery, Ala. city council voted down a mask enforcement ordinance Tuesday night while letters were sent to the governors of Arizona and Texas.
As COVID-19 cases continue to surge in some states, mayors, backed by health experts, are urgently requesting the authority to impose mandatory mask wearing — with little success so far.
"The units are full with critically-ill COVID patients," Dr. William Saliski of Jackson Hospital said, noting that 90 percent of the patients in the ICU are Black. “This mask slows that down, 95% protection from something as easy as cloth. ... If this continues the way it's going, we will be overrun."
Earlier that day, Montgomery County Commissioner Elton Dean said the county didn’t have the power to implement a mask requirement but asked individual businesses to do so. Story continuesAlabama is not the only state dealing with a surge without a mask ordinance in effect. Arizona has become one of the largest viral hotspots in the country, and hundreds of medical professionals there have signed letters to Republican Gov. Greg Ducey asking him to issue a mask requirement.
Ducey’s office issued a statement saying Arizonians"should wear a face-covering in public” but the governor has not endorsed a legal requirement. On Tuesday, Arizona set record highs for both new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations due to the virus. "A one-size-fits-all approach is not the best option. We should trust local officials to make informed choices about health policy. And if mayors are given the opportunity to require face coverings, we believe our cities will be ready to help reduce the spread of this disease," wrote the mayors of Houston, San Antonio, Austin, Dalla, Fort Worth, El Paso, Arlington, Plano and Grand Prairie.
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