A new emergency order in Dane County will require face coverings or masks to be worn by anyone over the age of 5 and when in any enclosed building where other people are present.
The Public Health Madison & Dane County department issued Emergency Order #8, which goes into effect July 13 at 8 a.m.
“Public health research now shows that face coverings are critical to slowing the spread of COVID-19. Given the current number of COVID-19 infections in our county, we need to all be wearing face coverings every time we leave the house,” said Janel Heinrich, Director of Public Health Madison & Dane County.
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The order requires residents to wear a mask when in public spaces and even when in someone else's home.
Exceptions to the order include tasks such as eating at a restaurant, those who have physical, mental or developmental conditions that prevent them from wearing a mask.
"Science keeps informing our response to this virus. The recent spike in cases showed that asymptomatic cases were on the rise in Dane County and so was community spread with no known source of infection. If people are sick and don't know it, mandatory masking protects all of us," said Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway.
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