Scottsdale residents will be required to wear face masks in most public areas through Aug. 20 after Mayor Jim Lane signed a new proclamation on Friday extending the initial mask mandate. 

Mask-wearing became mandatory in cities across Arizona last month as the state responded to record-setting cases of COVID-19. The mayor’s initial mandate from June 18 was set to expire Monday.

Lane said he has spoken regularly with health care leaders in the city who told him that the stress on hospital resources in the wake of rising infection rates had been “substantial.”

“We certainly can’t afford for it to get worse,” Lane said in a statement on Friday. “Few people like wearing a mask, but it’s a simple and easy thing to do, for a relatively short period of time, to help our community get through this.”

Scottsdale City Councilman Guy Phillips received widespread criticism last month when he hosted a rally at City Hall opposing the mandate.

In a news release announcing the new order, the city cited the rising infection rates in Arizona, as well as increasing evidence that covering one’s nose and mouth prevents individuals from spreading the virus and contracting it.

The issue of wearing masks has become politicized, with many saying the mandate violates their personal freedoms. A recent study examining anti-mask activity found that Arizona is the most resistant state in the country when it comes to wearing masks.

Where do you need to wear masks?

The proclamation signed Friday requires people to cover their nose and mouth in most public areas.

Those public areas include grocery stores, pharmacies, restaurants, retail stores, at special events and on public transit. Public-facing businesses must require employees to wear face coverings as well.

There are exceptions.

Individuals exempted from wearing masks include:

• Children 6 years old and younger.
• People engaged in religious services.
• Anyone who Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidance recommends should not wear face coverings because of health conditions. 
• People participating in organized group or team sports, exercise or other physical activities where it is not practicable or feasible to wear a face covering or physically distance.
• People exercising outdoors.
• People eating or drinking at restaurants, if they are seated at their table or other designated eating area. 

Face coverings also will not be required in facilities that contain fewer than 10 people who are able to maintain at least 6 feet of distance.

Cities are running into issues when it comes to enforcing the mask mandates.

No citations were issued in the first weekend of enforcement after the initial mandate from Maricopa County. Police departments said they were focusing on educating residents about the mandate in lieu of traditional enforcement.

Scottsdale said in its statement that people do not have to produce documentation of a medical condition that precludes them from wearing a mask. Businesses should first ask customers to comply with wearing a mask, then contact police for assistance if the customer refuses, the city said.

“Individuals will be given an opportunity to comply with wearing masks before any enforcement action is taken,” the statement read.

Continued failure to comply with the city’s mandate could constitute a class one misdemeanor, which carries a fine of up to $2,500 for individuals.

In addition to the mask regulation, Scottsdale’s emergency order also encourages establishments that allow for the consumption of alcohol on their premises to limit their occupancy to 50% to allow for better social distancing.

Gov. Doug Ducey announced last week that restaurants must operate with less than 50% capacity in dining rooms. 

The move came after eight of Old Town Scottsdale’s most popular bars and nightclubs were sent notices ordering them to comply with mask requirements after videos of packed clubs flooded social media.

“In this emergency, like any other, we have a civic responsibility to act and sometimes accept actions that we may not like but are important for recovery,” Lane said in his statement. “As hospitalization utilization continues to rise and trend toward potentially threatening levels, it remains imperative to slow the contagion rate — and wearing masks is a simple step recommended by public health experts.”

Have a tip out of Scottsdale? Reach the reporter Lorraine Longhi at llonghi@gannett.com or 480-243-4086. Follow her on Twitter @lolonghi.

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