Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey will announce whether she will extend, or lift, a statewide mask order that has been in place since July.

The governor has scheduled a Thursday morning press conference to discuss the pandemic. The mask order will end at 5 p.m. Friday without an extension.

Medical officials have urged the governor to extend the order, arguing that easing restrictions before more people are vaccinated could reverse the recent improvements. But Ivey has faced political pressure to lift the mask order as some other Republican-led states have done.

Ivey has said she prefers “personal responsibility” to government mandates and the state is headed in the right direction, yet “we still have some work to be done,” spokeswoman Gina Maiola said Monday.
The state’s death toll from COVID-19 hit 10,029 on Wednesday.