Sandersville’s Mayor and Council are considering a mask ordinance in the City of Sandersville.
At the most recent City Council meeting, the Mayor and Council reviewed a proposed ordinance that would require masks/facial coverings that cover both the mouth and the nose in public places within the City of Sandersville.
Sandersville Mayor Jimmy Andrews explained that if Council approves this ordinance, private businesses can make their own decisions on whether or not to require masks.
The proposed ordinance notes that evidence indicates that the use of face coverings reduces the transmissibility per contact by reducing transmission of infected droplets in both laboratory and clinical contexts. Public face covering wearing is most effective at stopping the spread of the virus when compliance is high. This evidence supports the conclusion that the adoption of more widespread face covering requirements can help to control the COVID-19 epidemic by reducing the shedding of droplets into the environment from asymptomatic and symptomatic individuals.
The ordinance goes on to explain that it will only be enforced in the portions of the city that are located in a county in which the prevalence of confirmed cases of COVID-19 over the previous 14 days is equal to or greater than 100 cases per 100,000 people according to the Georgia Department of Public Health.
The Georgia Department of Public Health’s report from Wednesday, January 13, lists Washington County’s number of confirmed COVID-19 cases per 100,000 over the last two weeks at 877, which equates to 178 total confirmed cases in two weeks.
As outlined in the proposed ordinance, masks/facial coverings would not be required in the following circumstances:
– In personal vehicles or upon residential property;
– When a person is alone in enclosed spaces or only with other household members;
– When the individual has a bona fide religious objection to wearing a facial covering or mask;
– While drinking or eating;
– When a licensed healthcare provider has determined that wearing a facial covering or mask causes or aggravates a health condition for the individual or when such person has a bona fide medical reason for not wearing a facial covering or mask;
– When wearing a facial covering or mask would prevent the receipt of personal services or performing work in the course of employment;
– When complying with the directions of a law enforcement officer or for the purposes of verifying a person’s identity, such as when purchasing alcohol, tobacco, or prescription drugs or when engaging in a financial transaction;
– Children under the age of ten (10) years;
– When the individual is having difficulty donning or removing a face mask or face covering without assistance;
– At any polling place and no individual shall be denied ingress or egress to or from a polling place for failure to wear a facial covering or mask; and
– When outdoors and maintaining social distancing from anyone other than individuals with whom they cohabitate.
Sandersville City Council will further discuss the proposed mask ordinance at their next City Council meeting scheduled for Tuesday, January 19.