(Cleveland) - Mayor Frank Jackson says City Council is going to take up an ordinance that would put some legal pull behind his order that people in the city wear face masks in public places.
During a tele-town hall meeting on Tuesday evening, the mayor said the ordinance would make failure to wear a face mask a civil crime, and would carry a fine of $25.
Jackson says under the governor's order for face masks in Cuyahoga County, the city could have made this a criminal penalty with up to 90 days in jail and larger fines, but it was decided to go with the simple civil penalty.
According to the mayor, wearing a face mask in Cleveland is something that's necessary at this time, given that in the past seven days, there were at least three days in which the number of new reported COVID-19 cases in the city hit or surpassed 100. "Rather than us remaining stable, and flattening out the curve, those infections have increased," the mayor said.
(Photo courtesy City of Cleveland)
(Copyright 2020, iHeartMedia)