ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The governing body of Alaska’s largest city has overridden the mayor’s veto of an emergency order instituting a mask mandate for 60 days.
The Anchorage Assembly on Thursday overturned Mayor Dave Bronson’s veto of the measure requiring masks by most everyone in indoor public spaces on a 9-2 vote, Alaska Public Media reported.
The assembly had held a public hearing for a regular mask measure that drew so much opposition and had so many people wanting to comment, it stretched over multiple days.
But during a meeting Tuesday in which the proposal was not being heard, the Assembly approved an emergency ordinance putting a mask mandate in place.
Bronson, a staunch critic of COVID-19 mandates, had vetoed the ordinance Wednesday.
The ordinance mandates people wear masks in indoor public places and communal spaces. Among the exemptions are children under the age of 5, those playing sports or attending church and members of Bronson’s administration.
Businesses must deny entry to people who aren’t wearing masks.
While it sets a 60-day timeframe for the ordinance, it could be canceled if two of Anchorage’s three hospitals are not operating with crisis care protocols or if the city does not have a high transmission rate of COVID-19.