County spreading word on mask law

In Palm Beach County, violators can be fined

A new campaign is kicking off across Palm Beach County to remind people it’s now the law: They must wear masks in public.

Violators can be fined up to $250 for the first violation and $500 for each additional violation.

In Boynton Beach, three “outreach coordinators” who work in code enforcement plan to reach out to hundreds of restaurants and retail shops to make sure owners understand the new rules amid the coronavirus pandemic. When they hit the streets Monday, they’ll be armed with copies of the signs, which are also part of the new county order to pass out.

The owners are “entrenched in trying to run their businesses and all of these rules are very fluid and changing so we are trying to facilitate giving them this information,” said Adam Temple, the city’s director of Community Standards.

He estimated it would take “a good couple weeks” to get to everybody.

In Boca Raton, code enforcement will be “proactive” by canvassing their assigned areas and talking to businesses, said Anne Marie Connolly, city spokeswoman.

They’ll have copies of the emergency order on hand so if restaurants and retailers aren’t aware of the nuances, they’ll be able to explain “what’s expected of them as a business owner,” she said.

Their efforts began Thursday and will continue through the weekend, she

said, and they’ll also have copies of signs that must be displayed to hand out as well.

Thursday marked Day No. 1 of Palm Beach County’s mask mandate to try to stop the spread of the coronavirus. That meant code enforcement officers throughout the region were getting ready to hit the streets, and businesses were getting ready to deal with some customers who weren’t quite ready to comply.

In response to staggering numbers of new infections in the state, county commissioners passed a facial covering rule that went into effect a minute after midnight Thursday morning.

They had delayed the move as long as possible, they said, but now needed to get in step with measures already in place in Broward and MiamiDade counties.

Although there are religious and medical exemptions, the mandate means masks must now be worn indoors, including stores, restaurants, hotels, gyms, grocery stores and public buildings such as libraries, and they must be worn outdoors as well where social distancing can’t be accomplished. Restaurant customers can remove their masks when eating, but masks must be worn if they move about the business.

The county said that fines would be at last resort.

“I had to turn away two girls today, and they tried to tell with me that the mandate didn’t take into effect yet, and it’s hard because I don’t like turning people away, I don’t want to,” said Lori Doty, the manager at francesca’s boutique along Boca Raton’s Mizner Park.

“But I feel safer for myself and my employees now that there’s an actual mandate, because I kept on getting pushback from people, and now it’s straight across the board rules.”

Cities say they hope compliance is voluntary.

At the Town Center at Boca Raton, a worker at the Intermix shop said she was happy the mandates are finally in place and saw an uptick in compliance Thursday.

“There are some people who are wearing the masks and keeping them around their chin, but there’s many more people wearing the masks now,” said Elana Solomon. “Before, people weren’t really wearing masks and it was making me really uncomfortable especially, a lot of young kids and teens not wearing them.”