Alabama governor extends mask order, requires for students

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey is extending a state order requiring face coverings in public for another month.

And she says masks will be required for students in grade 2 and above in an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19 as schools reopen.

Ivey announced she was extending an earlier mask order during a news conference at the Capitol in Montgomery on Wednesday.

The order had been set to expire on Friday.

With the state’s intensive care beds nearly full, state hospital officials had urged her to keep the rule in place.