If you live in these US cities, you have to wear a mask in public — or face a penalty

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order on Wednesday requiring people in the state to wear face masks in public if social distancing isn’t possible, media outlets reported.

“If you are going to be in a situation, in public, where you come into contact with other people in a situation that is not socially distanced you must have a mask or a cloth covering nose and mouth,” Cuomo said, according to The Hill.

Cuomo said local governments would enforce the order and New York is considering civil penalties for people who don’t wear masks, but not any criminal charges, according to The New York Times. “You’re not going to go to jail for not wearing a mask,” he said, according to the outlet.

Other counties and cities around the country are issuing similar orders.

Riverside County in California made it mandatory for people to wear face coverings in public and are issuing a $1,000 fine per day for people who violate the order, CBS Los Angeles reported.

“It’s about saving lives so that we can stop or slow the spread of the disease,” county spokesperson Brooke Frederico said, according to CBS LA.

Beverly Hills requires people to wear face masks when they leave their houses and San Bernardino County also made it mandatory to wear a face covering in public, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Los Angeles requires shoppers and workers to wear face coverings during “essential shopping,” The Los Angeles Times reported. That includes pharmacies, hardware stores, big box grocery stores, and drug stores, according to the outlet.

Employers who don’t supply workers with masks could be fined and violating the order is considered a misdemeanor, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Laredo, Texas, issued an emergency mandate that requires everyone over the age of 5 to wear “some form of covering over their nose and mouth” while in taxis, public transportation, pumping gas, or inside a building that’s open to the public, according to Time. Not complying with the order is considered a misdemeanor and can carry a fine of up to $1,000.

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez required everyone inside restaurants, grocery stores, pharmacies, and other retail stores to wear face masks, according The Sun Sentinel.

Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties all have issued orders requiring people to wear masks in grocery stores or other retailers, the Sentinel reported.

Suarez told The Miami Herald that businesses could be fined or shut down if they violate the mask order.

This story was originally published April 15, 2020 at 6:03 PM with the headline "If you live in these US cities, you have to wear a mask in public — or face a penalty."