Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte on Friday lifted the state’s mask mandate, fulfilling a campaign promise he made last month. The move, announced on Wednesday, comes in the form of a new directive that rescinds and replaces all previous directives implementing Executive Order 2-2021 (pdf), which the Republican governor issued on Jan. 13. The new directive (pdf) allows Montana’s statewide mask mandate to expire, but still allows local governments to have their own mask mandates to reduce the spread of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, which causes COVID-19. Gianforte said in a statement that his criteria were met for ending the mask mandate, which had been in place since July 2020 as issued by former Gov. Steve Bullock, a Democrat. Gianforte is encouraging people to continue to wear a mask despite the mandate having expired. “Since January 5th, I have provided a clear, consistent path to rescinding the mask mandate,” Gianforte said in …