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LOS ANGELES, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Non-medical essential workers and customers at businesses in Los Angeles will be required to cover their faces starting Friday to help curb the spread of COVID-19, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced on Tuesday.
"If you're shopping for groceries, if you're picking up your prescription or visiting any other essential business, you will need to cover your face," Garcetti said in a briefing.
All workers who work at businesses, such as grocery stores, water retailers, farm and produce stands, supermarkets, convenience stores, warehouse stores, and other retail establishments for canned food, dry goods, fresh fruits and vegetables, pet food and medication supply, fresh or frozen meats, fish, and poultry, must wear face coverings over their noses and mouths when working, according to a worker protection order issued by the mayor.
The order will also apply to taxi drivers and workers at ride sharing services, car rental companies, hotels, motels and shared rental units.
Employers are required to provide face coverings or reimburse employees for their cost, provide access to clean and sanitary restrooms on site, allow their employees to wash their hands every 30 minutes, and implement physical distancing measures for customers, visitors, and workers.
Business owners or operators may refuse admission or service to any individual who fails to wear face coverings as required by the order.
The mayor encourages all retail businesses to install plexiglass to separate cashiers and customers at all points of sale. He also encourages all people to wear face coverings over their noses and mouths when they are outside their homes to obtain essential services and goods.
On April 1, Garcetti urged all Angelenos to use a facial covering, non-medical or homemade masks, when they go out amid a statewide stay-at-home order in California.
As of Tuesday evening, Los Angeles County registered more than 7,000 positive cases and 173 deaths related to COVID-19, according to a Los Angeles Times survey of numbers released by local health agencies.