Additional Maryland County Face Mask Ordinances
Dear WANADA Members,
We mentioned last night that health officials in
Montgomery,
Prince George's,
Charles, and
Anne Arundel counties have issued face mask mandates with varying levels of requirements and enforcement.
These orders either require or strongly recommend that essential businesses provide their employees with face coverings, while adhering to state and federal social distancing guidelines.
Health officials in Frederick, Calvert, and St. Mary's counties have also issued safety ordinances this week. Frederick and St. Mary's counties' health orders also require businesses to provide their employees with face masks, and for employees to wear them. Installation of plexiglass barriers at cash registers is recommended in both counties, but not explicitly required.
Please read the full orders for the counties in which you operate businesses, so you can make sure you are fully compliant.
Calvert's directive "strongly encourages" employers to provide their employees with masks, while requiring retailers to limit their capacity to 5 patrons per 1,000 square feet of indoor space.
From what we have seen thus far, the ordinances in Frederick and the Southern Maryland counties do not carry fines for violators in the way Anne Arundel and Montgomery's orders do, but Gov. Larry Hogan's
executive order
from last week empowers local governments to shutter non-compliant businesses.
None of our members have been shut down, but we are confident that active local enforcement is ongoing throughout Maryland and will continue to be for the duration of this emergency.
Howard County is also encouraging all residents to wear face masks in public, and we would not be surprised to see that county issue additional enforcement guidelines in the near future.
As we have long said, if your workplace has been providing workers with face masks and hand-washing products, while following the standing guidance around social distancing, then compliance should be relatively simple. This is true whether your business is located in Maryland or Virginia.
Governors Hogan and Northam have been generous in allowing dealers to continue operating;
many states have imposed broader restrictions on auto sales, and a couple have more or less prohibited them outright. We all have to work diligently to ensure that we don't end up with the same fate. If we work together and adhere to these orders, dealers can continue the essential work of selling and repairing vehicles while keeping customers and employees safe.
One day, this all will pass and we will be able to recover, so long as we and our employees stay healthy.
Please feel free to contact me or Joe Koch (
jk@wanada.org
) if you have any questions. Thank you for your commitment to safety as you continue providing vital transportation and supply services during this crisis.
