Mask Mandate Update as First Republican State Brings Back Restrictions

Members of the public entering some government buildings in one county in Alabama will have to wear a face mask going forward amid a rise in coronavirus cases in the U.S., according to local reports.

News channel WAKA 8 reported on Thursday, citing official sources, that three court buildings in Dallas County, in the central portion of the Republican-run state and home to the city of Selma, had reintroduced mask mandates after some isolated cases in buildings where local officials interact with the public.

"At this point in time it is only being taken effect in the government buildings that the public come into," it quoted probate Judge Jimmy Nunn as saying. "And that will be the three buildings that we have. The courthouse, the annex and the administrative building."

Newsweek approached Nunn via email for comment and confirmation on Friday.

Some private institutions, hospital operators and colleges have reintroduced the requirements for staff or visitors to wear masks while at their sites to limit the spread of the new variants—EG.5 and BA.2.86—which have recently emerged. The moves sparked speculation that nationwide restrictions could be set to return.

However, the reported return of mask mandates in Dallas County could mark the first time in 2023 that a government institution has reintroduced the pandemic-era policy.

The risk of infection from COVID-19 in Dallas County is currently deemed to be relatively low, according to tracking data from the Covid Act Now research non-profit, with an average of 6.6 weekly hospitalizations with the virus per 100,000 people and one percent of hospital beds occupied by coronavirus patients.

Yet, the number of admissions has been rising steadily from near zero since early May, which may have prompted concerns among officials.

By contrast, at the start of September, a new law in Texas came into effect banning government entities from reintroducing mask or vaccine mandates for their premises. State-supported living centers, Department of Criminal Justice sites and government-owned health care facilities were exempted from the measure.

A spokesperson for the state's Republican Governor Greg Abbott previously told Newsweek that the Texan government had "closed the door on COVID restrictions," while Abbott himself declared: "There will be NO mask mandates in Texas."

Officials in Los Angeles, California, have touted a possible return of mask mandates in the city, but said at present it was a matter of personal choice.

In the week to August 26, there were more than 17,000 hospitalizations due to COVID-19 infections across the U.S., the most recent monitoring figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show—a rise of 15.7 percent on the week prior.

Admissions have been steadily rising since July, but are far below the highest peaks of the pandemic and appear to be localized into hotspots. The highest number of hospitalizations due to COVID-19 in any week since the virus first emerged was over 150,000 in January 2022, and the highest weekly total this year was over 44,000 in the first week of January.

A CDC spokesperson previously told Newsweek that it currently has no intention to call for a return of mandated mask-wearing, but didn't deny that this might change if cases of the new variants were to rise significantly.

Mask mandates have become a thorny political issue, pitting what some see as an infringement of their personal liberties against what health officials view as one of several measures that limit the spread of the virus among the general population.

There are differing opinions among the scientific community as to the efficacy of mask wearing, though many agree that when used in tandem with other measures—such as washing hands, social distancing and vaccination—they help stop the virus spreading.