Face Coverings Required When Inside Gwinnett County Buildings

GWINNETT COUNTY, GA — Effective Tuesday, all visitors and employees must wear face masks or face coverings when inside county buildings and facilities. People who do not comply with the order may be denied entry or asked to leave, the county noted. According to the Georgia Department of Public Health, Gwinnett leads the state in total number of cases with 68,603 cases as of Friday. Of those, 643 people have died.

Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners Chairwoman Nicole Hendrickson on Tuesday signed the executive order, which cites face mask recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to reduce the spread of the disease. The order allows exceptions for bona fide medical or religious reasons and for people who cannot don or remove masks by themselves, the county noted.

The mandatory face mask order is necessary to help protect county workers as they provide essential services to the public, Hendrickson said.

“It is imperative we protect our employees and our workforce," Hendrickson said in a statement. “Many of the services provided by the county require face-to-face interaction. We need our employees to be healthy so that we can continue operating and providing essential services to the public.”