Certain States Aren't Mask-Free
The Claim
Certain states across America are now completely mask-free.
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Emerging story
A September 2020 Facebook post claimed that Florida, Georgia, Idaho, South Dakota and Tennessee had lifted their mask mandates and are now officially “mask free."
The claim soon spread on social media.
Misbar’s Analysis
The Misbar team has determined that this claim is false. Only municipalities within those states have or had mask mandates; none of them were state-wide. An October article published in AARP showed that 33 states within the United States, as well as Washington, D.C., require people to wear a face covering when out in public.
Of the states being named, South Dakota’s Brookings City has an indoor public face covering ordinance. Parts of Tennessee, such as Knox County, Shelby County, Memphis and Nashville, have mask mandates in place. In Idaho, certain counties require face coverings in public areas, while in Georgia, cities and counties that have 100 or more confirmed COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people can implement mask requirements on public properties. Additionally, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, Pinellas and Hillsborough, in Florida all have some sort of mask requirement.
The Misbar team could not find any statewide order that requires individuals to wear masks, only in certain municipalities. As such, none of those states can now be “mask-free” as they were never required statewide in the first place.
