Wallace City Council unanimously passes mask order

WALLACE – The Wallace City Council unanimously voted in favor of a mask order during an emergency meeting Friday morning.

According to Wallace City Officials, the specifics of the order, which is effectively immediately, borrowed heavily from a similar mandate that passed earlier this month in McCall, Idaho, requiring that people wear face masks when in any indoor or outdoor public place, or in any otherwise unprotected social interaction while inside the city limits of Wallace.

By this order, public places are defined as but not limited to- retail business establishments, government offices, medical, educational, arts and recreational institutions, public transportation, including taxi cabs and ridesharing vehicles.

There are a few exemptions to the order, including:

• Children under the age of 5.

• Persons who cannot medically tolerate wearing a face covering. A person is not required to provide documentation demonstrating that the person cannot medically tolerate wearing a face covering.

• Persons who are hearing impaired, or communicating with a person who is hearing impaired, where the ability to see the mouth is essential for communication.

• Persons, including on-duty law-enforcement officers, for whom wearing a face covering would create a risk to the person related to their work, as determined by local, state, or federal regulators or workplace safety guidelines.

• Persons who are obtaining a service involving the nose, face, or head for which temporary removal of the face covering is necessary to perform the service.

• Persons who are eating or drinking at a restaurant or other establishment that offers food or beverage service, so long as the person is able to maintain a distance of 6 feet away from persons who are not members of the same household or party as the person.

• Outdoor public places where a person can employ social distancing as recommended by CDC where the person is able to maintain a distance of 6-feet away from persons who are not members of the same household or party as the person.

There are currently no fines or penalties for not following the order, but the City Council could create some if they pass a city ordinance.

The order will remain in effect until Wallace Mayor Lynn Mogensen rescinds it.

This is a developing story.