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Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) announced a mandatory statewide mask order Wednesday, citing a 50 percent increase in new COVID-19 cases over the past two weeks. “Despite all our best efforts, we’re seeing increases in cases every day still occurring and we’re almost to the point where hospital ICUs are overwhelmed,” Ivey said at a press conference. (Hellmann, 7/15)

Montana Gov. Steve Bullock (D) has signed an executive order requiring all of the state's residents to wear masks while in public in an attempt to combat the spread of COVID-19. “Many Montanans answered the call to mask up – a call that came from our hospitals, nurses, and doctors, our vibrant small business community, our frontline workers, and our high-risk neighbors,” Bullock said in a statement. “I thank all of those who take seriously their personal responsibility and their role in stopping COVID-19. But we need even more Montanans, and the visitors who come here, to mask up.” (Johnson, 7/15)

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson left open the possibility of a statewide mask mandate to prevent coronavirus on Wednesday but said the state is making progress encouraging their use as the number of virus cases surpassed 30,000. Hutchinson, a Republican who has resisted mandating masks, applauded Bentonville-based Walmart’s decision to require customers to wear them. Hutchinson said such a requirement “remains a tool we can implement as we need it.” (DeMillo, 7/15)

Michigan on Wednesday reported its biggest increase in confirmed COVID-19 cases in nearly two months, leading Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to say she may be forced to reimpose some restrictions if the upward trajectory holds. Whitmer again pleaded with people to wear face coverings in public, saying it can reduce the chance of spread by about 70%. (Eggert, 7/16)

They have emerged as an unlikely symbol of partisan divide and a source of bottomless derision for President Trump. But masks on Wednesday moved ever closer to becoming a new national reality in America’s pandemic-scarred life, with businesses, states and health experts preaching their promise as the country’s last line of defense against a fast-growing viral threat. (Witte, 7/15)

Frustrations with masks, such as headaches, acne and foggy glasses, shouldn’t deter people from wearing them since experts have some simple solutions to combat the issues.With mask orders now in place in multiple Ohio counties, face coverings have become commonplace apparel, almost like a pair of shoes. In other words, don’t leave home without one. (Ward, 7/15)

Although lawmakers are engaged with many long-delayed, vital components of a comprehensive federal response to the Covid-19 pandemic, a national mandatory mask order — which can be implemented quickly — can be an important linchpin of a better federal response to the pandemic. The nation, and global markets, watch in alarm as cases begin to surge in both the South and West. If we hope to avoid another crippling blow to the economy as a result of a return to lockdown or a loss of consumer confidence in the face of a tsunami of deaths, federal lawmakers need to put politics aside and insist that we put on our masks while they hammer out the details of needed, sweeping mitigation and recovery packages. (Amy Lauren Fairchild, Cheryl Healton and Sandro Galea, 7/15)