By most measures, Gov. Kay Ivey is a predictable Southern Republican, but she has charted her own course on efforts to control the coronavirus.

By Richard Fausset

Gov. Kay Ivey of Alabama has proved, in her four years in office, to be a reliably conformist Southern Republican, with a record of defending former President Donald J. Trump, the Second Amendment and monuments to the Confederacy.

But this week, Ms. Ivey, a 76-year-old veteran of Southern politics, demonstrated, yet again, that she harbored a pronounced maverick streak when it came to the emotionally charged matter of mask-wearing during the coronavirus pandemic. Bucking pressure from fellow Alabama Republicans, Ms. Ivey declared on Thursday that she would extend the state’s mask mandate until April 9, even as Republican governors in Texas and Mississippi lifted such requirements in the name of personal freedom.

“We need to get past Easter and hopefully allow more Alabamians to get their first shot before we take a step some other states have taken to remove the mask order altogether and lift other restrictions,” Ms. Ivey said at a news conference. “Folks, we are not there yet, but goodness knows we’re getting closer.”

Ms. Ivey’s supporters say the move is rooted in her practical-minded approach to governing, though they also acknowledge that it could create primary vulnerabilities for her if she runs for re-election next year in a profoundly conservative state, particularly since President Biden has amped up the partisanship on the matter, blasting governors of Texas and Mississippi for their “Neanderthal thinking.” But none of this has seemed to faze the governor since she first issued the mask mandate in July.

Ms. Ivey, a septuagenarian and recent lung-cancer survivor, is particularly vulnerable to the ravages of the virus. But she has insisted that her moves are based in a thoughtful, science-based analysis of a pandemic that has claimed more than 10,000 lives in Alabama.

“Now y’all, I’m not trying to be Governor Meemaw as some on social media have called me,” Ms. Ivey said as she extended the order in December. “I’m simply trying to urge you to use the common sense the Good Lord gave each of us to be smart and considerate of others.”

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