Cover Your Face In Framingham, Board Of Health Order Says

FRAMINGHAM, MA — If you're leaving the house to run to the grocery store or to get some takeout, don't forget to cover your face.

The Framingham Board of Health on Wednesday approved an order asking all residents over age 2 to cover their face while in public in most circumstances. The order also applies to workers at essential businesses, like grocery stores and pharmacies.

Mayor Yvonne Spicer on April 6 asked residents to start wearing face coverings in public, but the order formalizes that advice. The reason: Research shows that many people who get coronavirus don't show symptoms, called being "asymptomatic." There's the potential for asymptomatic people to spread the virus without knowing it, putting high-risk people in danger.

Framingham's new order asks residents to cover their mouth and nose with a clean "fabric face mask, scarf, or bandanna" while:

• Visiting any essential business "including but not limited to grocery stores, pharmacies, laundromats, home improvement stores, and restaurants"
• Visiting the "common areas of any multi-unit residential or commercial building"

The order also asks stores that are still open to close non-essential departments, like the floral department at a grocery store.

The order stresses that face-coverings should be used in conjunction with social distancing. The Board of Health is also asking residents to reach for homemade face coverings before buying medical equipment.

The number of coronavirus cases in Framingham hit 292 on Thursday. Subtracting seven deaths and 21 people have recovered, there are 264 active coronavirus cases in the city.