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(CNN) – While health officials agree that face masks help prevent the spread of COVID-19, state and local governments have varied widely in their implementation of face mask rules. Now, the president-elect of the United States, Joe Biden, wants to change that.
Biden’s office has published plans that his administration intends to implement at the beginning of his term, and one is a national mask mandate “working with governors and mayors.”
Most states already have some sort of mask mandate, but some don’t have a state rule, either leaving it as a recommendation or giving the authority to local officials.
These are the states that do not have statewide mask requirements.
Alaska
Alaska does not require the use of masks, does not limit group size or business operations. All the state does is encourage Alaskans to do their part to limit the spread of COVID-19, recommending that residents practice social distancing and wear a mask, without any mandate.
However, the mayor of Anchorage, Alaska, signed an order requiring people to cover their faces in public.
Arizona
Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican, allows individual counties to require a mask, but does not have a state initiative. Scottsdale was the first to make masks mandatory as of June 19. Other major municipalities with requirements include Phoenix, Tucson, and Flagstaff.
Florida
There is no statewide mask requirement, however some local municipalities have their own mandates.
Georgia
Across the state, masks are required for some essential employees, including restaurant and personal care service employees.
Meanwhile, several counties and cities have mask mandates.
Idaho
The state does not have a statewide requirement, but several local municipalities do, including Boise.
Iowa
The state does not have a statewide requirement, but several local municipalities do.
Mississippi
On September 4, Gov. Tate Reeves, a Republican, lifted the state requirement to cover her face.
Just over a month later and amid an increase in the number of cases, Reeves signed an executive order requiring face covering in counties with the highest COVID-19 case numbers. But that order expires Wednesday.
Missouri
The state does not have a statewide requirement, but several local municipalities do.
Nebraska
There is no state mandate, but customers and staff in hair salons, hair salons, tattoo parlors, and massage parlors must wear masks as part of the current Targeted Health Measures requirements.
North Dakota
The state does not have a state-wide requirement, but at least one local municipality, Fargo, does.
Oklahoma
The Oklahoma City council voted in a special meeting in July to pass an emergency public safety ordinance that requires face covering in enclosed public places throughout Oklahoma City.
South Carolina
Several counties and cities, including Charleston and Columbia, have mask mandates.
South Dakota
Gov. Kristi Noem, a Republican, has taken a hands-off approach to Covid-19. In October, he wrote in an opinion piece that the government should not impose a mask requirement.
“As I said before, if people want to wear a mask, they should be free to do so,” he wrote. “Similarly, those who don’t want to wear a mask shouldn’t be ashamed to wear one.”
South Dakota ranks second, only after North Dakota, in the number of coronavirus cases per 100,000 people.
Tennessee
Although there is no state mandate, Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, signed an executive order that gives the mayors of 89 counties the authority to issue mask requirements.
Wyoming
Although there is no state mandate, Laramie County, home to the capital city Cheyenne, has a mask requirement that went into effect on November 1. However, according to CNN affiliate KGWN, the county district attorney’s office has said violations of the mandate will not be prosecuted.
Masks are not a political statement, says Biden
In a speech Monday, Biden implored Americans to stop politicizing masks and social distancing.
“Please, I implore you, wear a mask,” said the president-elect. “Do it for yourself, do it for your neighbor. A mask is not a political statement, but it is a way to start uniting the country.”
During the campaign, Biden spoke of his plan to issue a mask mandate nationwide. However, doing so could be challenged in court, and in October Biden said he would go to all governors and urge them to issue mask mandates.
“And if they refuse, I will go to mayors and county executives to establish local masking requirements across the country,” he said.
Because the virus is primarily airborne, face masks are the most effective way to stop the spread of COVID-19 from person to person, studies have shown.
“Wearing masks in public is the most effective means of preventing human-to-human transmission, and this inexpensive practice, coupled with simultaneous social distancing, quarantine and contact tracing, represents the most likely fighting opportunity to stop the pandemic of COVID-19, prior to vaccine development, “Texas and California researchers wrote in June.
CNN’s Sarah Mucha contributed to this report.
This story was first published on CNN.com “Biden wants to see mandatory masks in all 50 states. These are the ones that do not require them”
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