Oak Lawn's Face Covering Order Goes Into Effect Friday

OAK LAWN, IL — Oak Lawn’s executive order requiring residents and employees of essential businesses to wear masks or face coverings goes into effect at 8 a.m. Friday, April 24. At least 11 suburbs have introduced facial covering orders to slow the spread of coronavirus in their communities.

In addition to extending Illinois’s stay-at-home order to the end of May, everyone will be required to wear a face covering or mask a public place where they can’t maintain a six-foot distance effective May 1. Face coverings will be required in public indoor spaces, such as stores. The new requirement applies to all individuals over the after of two who are able to medically tolerate a face-covering or a mask.

How the face covering order is enforced locally -- a polite warning, citation or arrest -- will be left up to municipalities, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Thursday at a news conference.

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Oak Lawn’s order does not spell out an age requirement for children, but Mayor Sandra Bury said young children should definitely not wear face coverings, especially toddlers, infants and those at risk of suffocation or who cannot speak.

“Shoppers doing essential business should not bring family with as much as possible to reduce the number of people in stores,” Bury added.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently changed its stand on nonmedical masks, urging the public to wear face coverings as a health measure. While homemade face masks and coverings may not prevent someone from contracting coronavirus, they are thought to block larger particles from the coughs, sneezes or saliva of asymptomatic people. Should a person be asymptomatic, wearing a face covering would protect others if that individual is shedding virus.

Here is what’s required under the Oak Lawn order:

• Operators of essential businesses will be required to provide cloth face coverings or masks, at their own expense, for their employees.
• It is up to essential business operators to see that their employees comply with the order.
• Businesses must post a notice in a conspicuous place making visitors aware they are in violation of the order if not wearing a face covering.
• Shoppers in violation of the face covering order who refuse to leave a store will be issued a warning by police; a second offense may result in a citation or arrest.

Masks are NOT required to be worn when:

• Riding alone in a personal vehicle
• Engaged in an outdoor activity, such as running, walking, biking or other solitary activity while practicing social distancing
• In your yard alone or with members of your household

Medical-grade and N95 respirators are not recommended for use by the public under the order, and should be reserved for use by health care workers and first responders.

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