Gov. Wolf reminds that masks are mandatory

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Harrisburg, PA – Gov. Tom Wolf says masks are needed when going anywhere outside your home with your family.

“Masks are mandatory when leaving the home,” Governor Tom Wolf reminded Pennsylvanians today.

“Especially as we are beginning a long Fourth of July weekend, it’s critical that everyone remember that masks are mandatory and must be worn when leaving your home,” Wolf said. “This virus is not gone, and mask-wearing is a required mitigation effort that we know works to stop its spread.”

Sec. of Health Dr. Rachel Levine signed an order mandating mask-wearing on Wednesday. It remains in effect.

FAQs on the mask-wearing order can be found here.

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Harrisburg, PA (AP) — Gov. Tom Wolf’s more expansive mask order issued this week as the coronavirus shows new signs of life in Pennsylvania is being met with hostility from Republicans.

They are objecting to the Democrat’s use of power, to wearing a mask itself and to what they call confusion it’s causing.

It is one of many partisan fights over the coronavirus in a premier presidential battleground state where Democrats blame President Donald Trump for the virus’ devastation and Republicans blame Wolf.

Pennsylvania’s state House Republican leaders called Wolf’s expanded mask order “another unenforceable, unilateral mask order.”

Five House Republicans are questioning the science behind using a mask to contain the virus.

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Pennsylvania is expanding on the previous mask order, now making masks mandatory in businesses and public places.

The rules in this new mandate are very much the same… you need to wear a mask if you are in a public place, at work, in a store, in a healthcare setting, or most places where you would be within 6 feet of other people.

There are still the exceptions. You can remove your mask in a restaurant to eat, you don’t need to wear a mask outdoors if you are farther than 6 feet from other people, kids under 2 shouldn’t wear a mask, and anyone with a medical or health condition that would be worsened by a mask does not need to wear one. You do not need to provide any documentation of that medical condition.

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Harrisburg, PA – Expanding on the business safety order signed by Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine in April that requires the wearing of masks in businesses, Governor Tom Wolf today announced a new order signed by Dr. Levine that takes the mask-wearing directive one step further.

With this order, signed under Dr. Levine’s authority under the Disease Prevention and Control Act, masks must be worn whenever anyone leaves home. The order takes effect immediately.

The rules in this new mandate are very much the same… you need to wear a mask if you are in a public place, at work, in a store, in a healthcare setting, or most places where you would be within 6 feet of other people. (See section 2.)

There are still the exceptions. You can remove your mask in a restaurant to eat, you don’t need to wear a mask outdoors if you are farther than 6 feet from other people, kids under 2 shouldn’t wear a mask, and anyone with a medical or health condition that would be worsened by a mask does not need to wear one. You do not need to provide any documentation of that medical condition. (See section 3.)

“This mask-wearing order is essential to stopping the recent increase in COVID-19 cases we have seen in Pennsylvania,” Gov. Wolf said. “Those hot spots can be traced to situations where Pennsylvanians were not wearing masks or practicing social distancing – two practices that must be adhered to if we want to maintain the freedoms we have in place under our reopening.”

The order outlines the situations when a mask must be worn and includes limited exceptions to the face-covering requirement.

Each of the state’s mitigation efforts has helped to slow the spread of COVID-19, kept our health care systems from being overwhelmed, and allowed for Gov. Wolf’s measured, phased reopening to proceed. But, with nearly every county is the green phase of reopening, complacency cannot be the norm.

“It is essential that Pennsylvanians wear masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19,” Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said. “While cases increase in some areas, we cannot become complacent. My mask protects you, and your mask protects me. Wearing a mask shows that you care about others, and that you are committed to protecting the lives of those around you.”

More and more health experts have called for mask wearing, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who said during a June 30 Senate hearing on COVID-19, “Americans who don’t wear masks may ‘propagate the further spread of infection.’”

The mask-wearing order will be sent to state and local officials, law enforcement and others tasked with education about the order for those not in compliance.

Gov. Tom Wolf says wearing a mask shouldn’t be seen as a political stance. He says it’s a health issue that everyone should be following, regardless of their political party.

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