King County is directing people to wear cloth face coverings in certain settings to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus as more businesses and activities resume, officials said Monday.
The new directive, set to begin May 18, by Jeff Duchin, the county’s public health officer, says people should wear face coverings in indoor public spaces, such as supermarkets, and in outdoor public spaces, such as farmer’s markets, where social distancing guidelines are difficult to follow.
There won’t be a penalty for people who don’t wear face coverings and law enforcement will not be involved with the directive, said County Executive Dow Constantine and Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, who joined Duchin for a virtual news conference Monday. The policy won’t apply to deaf and hard-of-hearing people who rely on face and mouth movements to communicate.