Golden Valley City Council Passes Emergency Ordinance Requiring Face Coverings

Press release from the City of Golden Valley:

July 22, 2020

At its July 21 meeting, the Golden Valley City Council passed an emergency ordinance regarding face coverings to help slow and limit the spread of the COVID-19. The ordinance will go into effect July 28, 2020 and will require individuals to wear masks indoors in all spaces of public accommodation and on public transportation.

In the ordinance, “spaces of public accommodation” refers to a “business, refreshment, entertainment or recreation facility, or an institution of any kind, whether licensed or not, whose goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations are extended, offered, sold, or otherwise made available to the public. Also, in the ordinance “face covering” refers to a manufactured or homemade cloth covering that fully covers an individual’s nose and mouth.

The ordinance does not apply to:

• facilities operated by the county, state, or federal government
• personal care services/salons that already have state face covering requirements
• medical facilities that already have face covering requirements
• children two years of age or younger
• individuals who have trouble breathing, are unconscious, incapacitated, or otherwise unable to remove a face covering without assistance
• individuals temporarily removing a face covering to actively eat or drink
• individuals temporarily removing a face covering for identification purposes
• individuals unable to wear a face covering due to medical, disability, or developmental reasons
• individuals speaking to an audience, whether in person or through broadcast, as long as the speaker remains six feet or more away from all other individuals
• individuals speaking to someone who is deaf or hard of hearing and who require the mouth to be visible to communicate
• participants actively engaged in youth and adult sports and individuals actively performing indoor exercise, provided the individual is wearing a face shield, all other applicable City requirements are met, and all requirements of the State of Minnesota are met (for purposes of this section, a face shield must cover the forehead, extend below the chin, and wrap around the side of the face)
• public and private school facilities

For more information, read the July 21 City Council Meeting Agenda. To read the approved ordinance, click here.

This press release was produced by the City of Golden Valley. The views expressed here are the author’s own.