Jacksonville, Florida city officials announced on Monday a new policy requiring people to wear masks in public spaces and “other situations where individuals cannot socially distance.”
The mandate will take effect at 5 p.m. ET on Monday.
“Please continue to practice personal responsibility to help stop the spread of this virus,” the city advised on its Twitter account.
The new requirement is being enacted a little less than two months before the Republican National Convention is slated to be hosted in the Florida city.
Though health officials have stressed the importance of facial coverings in preventing the spread of COVID-19, President Donald Trump has refused to wear a mask in public, and many of his supporters have followed his lead. The Trump campaign also did not require people to wear masks at the President’s rallies in Tulsa, Oklahoma and Phoenix, Arizona.
“The RNC is committed to holding a safe convention that fully complies with local health regulations in place at the time,” the GOP committee told TPM in a statement. “The event is still two months away, and we are planning to offer health precautions including but not limited to temperature checks, available PPE, aggressive sanitizing protocols, and available COVID-19 testing. We have a great working relationship with local leadership in Jacksonville and the state of Florida, and we will continue to coordinate with them in the months ahead.”
The Trump campaign did not respond to TPM’s request for comment.
