Big Sky Times

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte last Friday lifted the state’s mask mandate, fulfilling a campaign promise made last month.

Gianforte released a statement saying his criteria were met for ending the mask mandate, which had been in place since July 2020. He encouraged people to continue wearing masks even though the mandate issued by former Gov. Steve Bullock, a Democrat, had expired. 

“Since Jan. 5, I have provided a clear, consistent path to rescinding the mask mandate,” Gianforte said in a statement, The Epoch Times reported. “First, we need to start getting the vaccine to our most vulnerable. Second, we need to protect businesses, nonprofits, places of worship, and health care providers from lawsuits if they make a good faith effort to protect individuals from the spread of coronavirus and follow clear public health guidelines. We have met both criteria, and the statewide mandate expires today.”

The move to lift the mask mandate was met with mixed reaction. Vicky Byrd, executive director of the Montana Nurses Association, believes the decision may have been rushed.

“In the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic that continues to infect an average of 273 Montanans every day and with new variants of the coronavirus being reported almost every week, our governor decides to back away from one of the actions most effective at stopping the spread of the virus: wearing a face mask,” Byrd said, The Epoch Times reported. 

She added, "The governor’s lifting of the mask mandate directly contradicts the latest guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that (the variants) may be more contagious than the original virus." 

The CDC last week encouraged people to wear double masks to prevent the spread of the new strain of COVID-19.

Meanwhile Montana has already started a rollout of vaccines and is in Phase 1B. Gianforte in January said the vaccine is meant "to protect the most vulnerable Montanans, including people 70 years of age and older, Montanans 16 years of age and older who have severe underlying medical conditions, and Native Americans and other persons of color who are at a heightened risk of severe COVID-19-related complications.”

Not all counties have lifted the mandates. Missoula, Gallatin, Butte-Silver Bow, and Lewis and Clark counties remain under mask mandates. Whitefish also has a citywide mask mandate.