DC Mayor Muriel Bowser extends indoor mask mandate until the end of February

Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser is extending an indoor mask mandate until 11:59 p.m. on the last day of February.

The mandate had been scheduled to end later this month.

But the extended mask mandate is not the only requirement people face in the nation's capital city.

Earlier this month, another order went into effect which says that certain indoor establishments, like gyms and restaurants, cannot admit people ages 12 and up unless they furnish proof of at least one dose of vaccination against COVID-19. On February 15th, the requirement will be increased so that people will need to show that they have received "a full initial course of vaccination," according to the order.

Mask and vaccine mandates implemented by governments throughout the COVID-19 pandemic have proven to be controversial, with many Americans strongly opposing them.

Bowser, a Democrat who has served as mayor since 2015, is an advocate for giving statehood to Washington D.C.

During remarks earlier this month, she said that "we cannot talk about voting rights without talking about the disenfranchisement of 700,000 taxpaying Americans right here in Washington D.C., a legacy of slavery and Jim Crow America."