Alabama
Alabama’s mask mandate expired April 9, 2021. The state Department of Public Health recommends face-covering in public as part of its COVID-19 safety guidance. Municipal mask mandates in Birmingham and Montgomery expired in May 2021.
Learn more: Read the Alabama health department’s COVID-19 prevention guidelines.
Alaska
Alaska’s Department of Health Social Services “strongly encourages the wearing of masks in public,” but the state has not required it. Juneau, the state capital, downgraded its indoor mask requirement to a recommendation Feb. 28.
Learn more: Read the Alaska health department’s mask guidance.
Arizona
Gov. Doug Ducey issued an executive order in March 2021 lifting all state COVID-19 restrictions on businesses and restricting local governments’ ability to impose and enforce face-covering orders. Ducey signed legislation April 25 that bars school districts and local governments from requiring anyone under age 18 to mask up without the consent of a parent or guardian.
Learn more: Read the Arizona Department of Health Services’ mask guidance.
Arkansas
Gov. Asa Hutchinson lifted his 8-month-old mask mandate March 31, 2021. Health officials continue to recommend that Arkansans wear masks in public when unable to maintain 6 feet of distance from people outside their households. A state law barring local governments from imposing mask orders, enacted in April, was struck down by an Arkansas judge Dec. 29.
Learn more: Read the Arkansas health department’s mask guidance.
California
Gov. Gavin Newsom lifted California’s indoor mask mandate March 1. Similar local orders in Los Angeles County and most of the Bay Area have also been rescinded.
The state continues to strongly recommend face-covering for all individuals, regardless of vaccination status, in indoor public settings. Masks remain mandatory statewide in health care and long-term care facilities, correctional facilities, and homeless and emergency shelters.
Los Angeles County requires masking on public transit, including taxis and rideshares, and in airports and other transit hubs. The BART rail system serving the San Francisco Bay Area instituted a mask mandate for riders April 28; the order is in effect until July 18.
In Oakland, masks are required when 2,500 people or more have gathered indoors.
Learn more: Read California’s updated face-covering guidance.
Colorado
Gov. Jared Polis ended Colorado’s statewide mandate May 14, 2021. Face-covering is required in residential care facilities and on public transportation, regardless of vaccination status. Local indoor mask orders in the city of Denver and Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Jefferson and Larimar counties have been lifted.
Learn more: Read the Colorado health department’s mask guidance.
Connecticut
Gov. Ned Lamont lifted Connecticut’s face-covering order Feb. 28. Previously, masks were required for unvaccinated people age 2 and over in indoor public places. Masking remains mandatory for all in health care settings such as hospitals, doctors’ offices and urgent care centers; long-term care facilities; and shelters. The city of Bridgeport ended its indoor mask mandate Feb. 23 and New Haven did so March 7.
Learn more: Read Connecticut’s current COVID-19 health guidance.
Delaware
Gov. John Carrey’s indoor mask order was lifted Feb. 11. Previously, masks were required for people kindergarten age and older in indoor public settings, except while eating or drinking in restaurants and bars. Masks remain mandatory in hospitals, long-term care facilities and state government buildings.
Learn more: Read Delaware’s face-covering guidance.
District of Columbia
The District’s order requiring masks for people over age 2 in indoor public places largely expired March 1. Fade-covering is no longer required in retail businesses, entertainment venues and most other public settings but remains mandatory in libraries, health care facilities, long-term care facilities, shelters, prisons and District government buildings in which employees interact with the public.
Learn more: Read the District’s updated COVID-19 action plan.
Florida
Florida recommends but has not required face coverings for the general public. Several cities and large counties, including Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and Hillsborough (which includes Tampa), had mask requirements, but Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an executive order May 3, 2021. that barred local governments and school systems from imposing COVID-19 restrictions, including mask rules.
Learn more: Read Florida’s order barring local mask mandates.
Georgia
The governor’s office and the state Department of Public Health recommend masking in public to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Gov. Brian Kemp issued an executive order in August 2021 prohibiting local governments from imposing mask rules on private businesses. Mandates in Atlanta and Savannah that required most individuals to mask up in indoor public places were rescinded in late February.
An indoor mask mandate has been renewed in Athens and Clarke County through June 8, but by local ordinance it is not enforced if the county’s COVID-19 case rate is below 100 per 100,000 residents, as is currently the case.
Learn more: Read the Georgia Department of Public Health’s COVID-19 guidance.
Hawaii
The state’s indoor face-covering order, in place since April 2020, expired March 25. Previously, people age 5 and up are required to wear a mask in most indoor public settings.
Learn more: Read Hawaii’s mask guidance.
Idaho
“Everyone should wear a mask in public places,” the state Department of Health & Welfare recommends. Boise, Idaho’s capital and largest city, dropped its mask mandate in May 2021, as did several other jurisdictions. Gov. Brad Little signed an executive order May 28 restoring local governments’ authority to make their own mask rules, reversing a move by Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin to strip such local control in an order she issued while Little was at a conference out of state.
Learn more: Read the Idaho health department’s pandemic recommendations.
Illinois
Gov. J.B. Pritzker eliminated the state’s order requiring people to mask up in indoor public spaces Feb. 28. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot lifted a similar citywide mandate the same day. Masks remain mandatory and in health care and long-term care facilities and in congregate settings such as shelters and prisons.
Learn more: Read a news release from the governor’s office on lifting Illinois’ mask order.
Indiana
The state’s mask mandate became a “mask advisory” April 6, 2021. Face-covering is required for all people in state-run congregate facilities such as prisons, state hospitals and veterans homes.
Learn more: Read the Indiana Department of Health’s COVID-19 control guidance.
Iowa
Gov. Kim Reynolds lifted the state’s mask order in February 2021. The following May, she signed legislation barring local governments from compelling businesses to require masks. Iowa City’s indoor mask mandate, which municipal officials said was legal because it was binding on individuals, not businesses, was rescinded March 1.
A federal appeals court panel ruled on May 16 that Iowa school districts cannot issue mask mandates unless they’re needed to comply with other federal or state laws.
Learn more: Read Iowa’s COVID-19 prevention guidance.
Kansas
Kansas lawmakers revoked the state’s mask requirement April 1, 2021, hours after Gov. Laura Kelly issued an executive order intended to extend it, under a state law passed the previous month that gave a panel of top legislators authority to overturn the governor’s emergency orders. Kansas City and Wyandotte County, which have a unified government, repealed their indoor mask mandate Dec. 16.
Learn more: Read the Kansas health department’s mask guidance.
Kentucky
Kentucky’s general mask mandate ended June 11, 2021, along with the state’s remaining COVID-19 health restrictions. Masking is encouraged for Kentuckians when they are with people from outside their household and required for adults in some health care, day care and early education settings.
Learn more: Read the Kentucky Department of Public Health’s COVID-19 prevention and treatment guidance.
