Masks are now mandatory in the City of Des Moines. | Pixabay
Masks are now mandatory in the City of Des Moines. | Pixabay
Des Moines residents should remember to wear a face mask when they venture outside the house following the signing of an emergency proclamation by Mayor Frank Cownie, making them mandatory.
The mandate is in response to the spread of COVID-19 in the state and Polk County, the City of Des Moines reported in a press release. Iowa’s cases have been rising since Aug. 9, placing it as one of the eight states in the nation with rising activity.
“We are switching from an urgent recommendation to a mandate. This is to send a strong and clear message that we need to be accountable and disciplined in battling this pandemic,” Cownie said in the press release. “Now more than ever we have to protect the health and well-being of the citizens of Des Moines and the state of Iowa.”
The proclamation defines a face covering as a cloth mask, surgical masks, plastic shield or similar covering that covers the nose and mouth in a public setting.
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