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Pennsylvania orders businesses to turn away customers who don't wear masks | TribLIVE.com
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Pennsylvania orders businesses to turn away customers who don't wear masks

Megan Guza
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pa.gov
Gov. Tom Wolf removes his mask before speaking during a virtual news conference Monday, April 6, 2020.

Customers and employees will soon be required to wear masks inside businesses still operating, and those who don’t wear masks will be denied entry, state Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said Wednesday.

The order, which includes dozens of other requirements, will go into effect 8 p.m. Sunday.

It dictates that businesses “require all customers to wear masks while on premises, and deny entry to individuals not wearing masks, unless the business is providing medication, medical supplies or food, in which case the business must provide alternative methods of pick-up or delivery of goods.”

People who can’t wear masks because of a medical condition will not be required to wear one, and they will not have to provide medical documentation. Children 2 and younger also won’t have to wear one.

At Giant Eagle, which has stores across Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia, officials are reviewing the order, said spokesman Dick Roberts, noting that masks and gloves have been sent to stores for employee use.

“We are working to source enough supply of the personal protective equipment to make it easy for Team Members to follow this revised direction, and are reviewing how we best support the guidance that customers also wear masks,” Roberts said in a statement to the Tribune-Review.

He did not immediately respond to questions regarding enforcement of the order.

Gov. Tom Wolf in March ordered first the closure of all nonessential businesses followed by a broader order closing what the state deemed all non-life-sustaining operations.

“Our essential employees stepped up to the plate and are keeping us safe, healthy, fed and sheltered during this time,” Wolf said during a virtual news conference. “We all need to thank them by doing everything we can to prevent ourselves from spreading the virus to them.”

Employers must provide masks for employees and require them to wear them while at work. The order also limits the number of people allowed inside a business at any given time to half of its official occupancy limit.

The order further encourages businesses that can to conduct transactions by appointment only and encourage online ordering. Stores must have a specific time for those who are especially susceptible to the virus — elderly individuals, people with underlying conditions — to shop separately from the rest of the public.

Businesses that fail to comply with the order could face citations, fines or license suspensions.

Wolf said state agencies charged with enforcing the order include the Health, Agriculture, and Labor and Industry departments; the state police; Liquor Control Board; and local officials.

When an employee gets covid-19

The order includes what employers should do if the business is exposed to covid-19.

Employers must screen employees for a fever above 100.4 degrees before the start of a shift, and anyone ill must be sent home.

Other requirements include:

• Close off and ventilate areas visited by that individual;

• Wait a minimum of 24 hours, or as long as practical, before beginning cleaning and disinfection;

• Clean and disinfect all spaces, especially commonly used rooms and shared electronic equipment;

• Identify and notify employees who were in close contact with that individual (within about 6 feet for about 10 minutes);

• Ensure the business has a sufficient number of employees to perform these protocols effectively and immediately.

Keeping people separated

Other requirements are meant to protect employees by keeping them far enough apart from one another and from customers:

• Stagger work start and stop times for employees when practical to prevent gatherings of large groups entering or leaving the premises at the same time;

• Provide sufficient space for employees to have breaks and meals while maintaining a social distance of 6 feet, including limiting the number of employees in common areas and setting up seating to have employees facing forward and not across from each other;

• Conduct meetings and training virtually. If a meeting must be held in person, limit the meeting to the fewest number of employees possible, not to exceed 10 employees at one time and maintain a social distance of 6 feet.

• Ensure the facility has a sufficient number of employees to perform all measures listed effectively and in a manner that ensures the safety of the public and employees;

• Ensure the facility has a sufficient number of personnel to control access, maintain order and enforce social distancing of at least 6 feet;

• Prohibit nonessential visitors from entering the premises of the business;

• Ensure all employees who do not speak English as their first language are aware of procedures by communicating the procedures, either orally or in writing, in their native or preferred language;

• Alter hours of business so the business has sufficient time to clean or to restock or both;

• Install shields or other barriers at registers and check-out areas to physically separate cashiers and customers or take other measures to ensure social distancing of customers from check-out personnel, or close lines to maintain a social distance of 6 feet between lines;

• In businesses with multiple check-out lines, only use every other register, or fewer. After every hour, rotate customers and employees to the previously closed registers. Clean the previously open registers and the surrounding area, including credit card machines, following each rotation;

• Schedule hand-washing breaks for employees at least every hour;

• Where carts and handbaskets are available, assign an employee to wipe down carts and handbaskets before they become available to a new customer.

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