LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti executed an emergency order on Tuesday mandating that many workers providing non-medical essential services wear face coverings on the job.
Under the order, which goes into effect at midnight on Friday, April 10, customers at grocery stores and other businesses considered essential must also wear face protection. Those that do not, may be refused service.
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“We need to protect every worker on the front lines of this crisis,” Mayor Garcetti said in a statement. “Each one of us is a first responder in this emergency. Every employer should keep employees safe, and so should Angelenos patronizing these businesses.”
The order requires employers at essential service businesses to provide workers with “cloth face coverings that shield their noses and mouths,” or to reimburse employees for the cost of providing their own protection.
The emergency order also mandates that businesses implement physical distancing measures for employees, customers, and visitors, as well as ensuring that employees have access to “clean and sanitary restrooms, stocked with all the necessary cleaning products like soap and sanitizer.”
“Cover up. Keep your distance. Save lives. It’s that simple,” said Mayor Garcetti.
Employees must be allowed to wash their hands every 30 minutes. The order also recommends that, when possible, businesses install plexiglass barriers between checkout cashiers and customers.
Even with the new precautions implemented by this executive order, Mayor Garcetti and city officials remain adamant that Angelenos limit trips outside of their residences to “only the most necessary and vital tasks.” This week in particular, Mayor Garcetti and L.A. County Department of Public Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer have urged Angelenos to postpone making trips to the grocery store or for other errands if at all possible.
Mayor Garcetti and city officials have also repeatedly emphasized that medical-grade masks, like the N95, should be reserved solely for use by first responders and front line healthcare professionals.