Must Wear Face Mask When Entering A St. Pete Business: Mayor

ST. PETERSBURG, FL —Every person in St. Petersburg who enters a business must have a mask on beginning at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, confirmed Mayor Rick Kriseman through the city's Facebook Live page.

"While we will be doing education for a few days, and giving everyone enough time to either find or create a face covering, we will begin enforcing this order this weekend," Kriseman said. "So please take it seriously. We ask that all business owners treat this as if they would someone entering their establishment with no shoes or shirt on."

Kriseman asked the business owners to not get into a confrontation with anyone who wants to walk in without a mask and not leave but to call the non-emergency St. Pete Police Department number at 727-893-7780, and allow police to handle it.

If a customer refuses to comply, they will be held accountable as business owners are being held accountable for making sure their employees wear a mask.

More information about this order will be posted at Restart St. Pete's website, said Kriseman.

If you're without a mask, you can also visit Restart St. Pete's link for a list of local places handing out free masks.

For tips on how to make a mask, check out this how-to-make-a-mask article by Deb Belt for Tampa Patch.