Buffalo Grove officials announced Thursday that people age 5 and older will be required to wear some sort of mask while in public in the village starting Friday.
Village President Beverly Sussman issued the executive order, which requires face coverings over the nose and mouth for people engaged in essential activities, including shopping, health care visits and public transportation use.
“This order was created not only to protect our public health, but also the health of our essential workers,” Sussman said in a village electronic newsletter.
The mandate will remain in effect through the duration of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s stay-at-home order, which has been extended to May 30.
“We wish we did not have to order these measures, but preventing the spread of COVID-19 remains a high priority in Buffalo Grove,” Village Manager Dane Bragg said in a village news release announcing the order.
According to the village order, employees working at businesses that are open are also required to cover their faces. Village staff will work with businesses to limit the number of people inside at one time.
The order also requires businesses to refuse admission and service to anyone not covered up. The village will deliver signs to all operating businesses that say, “Entrance prohibited without face covering,” according to the release.
Buffalo Grove police and the village’s Community Development Department will enforce the order. Both individuals and businesses can be cited for disregarding the order and could pay fines up to $750, officials said. Businesses may also be subject to suspension of their business license, the release states.
“Face coverings must be worn while you are shopping for groceries, home supplies, medicine, and other essentials, and when you go to see your doctor or take public transportation. You do not have to wear a face cover while you are inside of your own home, while you are in a vehicle, or if you are outside observing social distancing (such as exercising, doing yard work or walking your dog),” Sussman said.
Also announced in the order was a requirement for restaurants to provide curbside pickup, drive-thru or delivery only. No customers are allowed inside eateries. The village will provide “Curbside/Carry-out only” signs to operating restaurants, the release states.
Village officials said in the release that, as of the the effective date of the order, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported 73 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Buffalo Grove.
Village officials said in the release that Buffalo Grove cannot provide masks to residents because they are prioritized for health care professionals and first responders. Individuals who do not have access to a mask can create a covering using materials at home, such as T-shirts, bandanas or scarves.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cloth face coverings should cover the nose and mouth, be securely looped around the ears and include multiple layers of fabric. The fabric shouldn’t restrict breathing and should be able to be washed and dried.
“We understand that this order may be frustrating at a time when all of us have been living through challenging circumstances,” fire Chief Mike Baker said in a video about the order posted on the village website. “Please work with us and cover your nose and mouth while in public so all of us, together, can continue to flatten the curve.”
According to the release, the coverings will not be required when people are outside practicing a safe social distance or when they are in their homes or cars. Exempt activities include exercising, walking a dog and doing yard work.
Face masks should be seen as a partner to social distancing in public rather than a replacement, officials said. More information can be found on the village’s website.
The announcement came just hours before Pritzker imposed a similar order for the state. Pritzker’s order calls for anyone age 2 or older to wear a mask or other face covering when they are in public and can’t maintain a 6-feet distance from others. The governor’s order is effective May 1.
Unlike the Buffalo Grove directive, Pritzker’s order does not call for anyone to be fined or arrested. He said enforcement will be done on a local level and suggested that police remind people to wear masks.
Several suburbs have issues similar orders in recent weeks requiring face coverings, including Glenview, Northbrook and Wilmette. Barrington, Arlington Heights and Lincolnshire have not issued their own directives. Officials in those towns say they are following the state’s mandate.
“Face coverings work, and we need all Illinoisans to do their part here,” Pritzker said at a news briefing Thursday.
Twitter: @kaitlinedquist