Missouri governor candidates split on requiring masks

(AP) — Democrat Nicole Galloway says she’ll require face masks statewide if elected Missouri governor. That’s part of a plan she released Monday to handle the coronavirus pandemic.

Galloway is trying to unseat Republican Gov. Mike Parson. He has resisted calls to enact a statewide mask mandate. Parson has said that local officials in state virus hotspots have required masks on their own.

Parson also has left it up to local school districts to decide how to handle reopening. Galloway wants statewide guidelines that would only allow full in-person learning if virus cases in the county are low relative to the population.