WHEREAS, the President of the United States, the Governor of the State of Tennessee, and the Mayors of a number of municipalities in the state of Tennessee have made emergency declarations related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and have recognized it as a public health emergency; and
WHEREAS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) advise the use of cloth or other types of face coverings to slow the spread of COVID-19; and
WHEREAS, widespread use of face coverings is believed to be effective in slowing the spread of COVID-19 by reducing the chances of symptomatic and asymptomatic people transmitting the virus to others, especially when used together with other protocols including 6-foot social distancing and hand hygiene; and
WHEREAS, Governor Bill Lee signed Executive Order 63, strongly urging all persons to wear cloth face coverings or other similar coverings in public settings where being in close proximity to others is anticipated, and
WHEREAS, Governor Lee, through Executive Order 54, and its subsequent extensions in Executive Orders 55 and 63, delegated authority to county mayors in the 89 counties that do not have a locally-run health department (including Fayette County) to issue orders requiring the wearing of face coverings within their jurisdictions, subject to certain limitations, for the purposes of slowing the spread of COVID-19; and
WHEREAS, the “Declaration of Public Health Emergency and Requirement for Wearing of Face Coverings” for Fayette County signed on August 2, 2020, and renewed on August 28, expires in its entirety on September 30, 2020 11:59m;
NOW, THEREFORE, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY DELEGATED BY EXECUTIVE ORDER 63 AND PURSUANT TO GOVERNOR LEE’S RECOGNITION OF A CONTINUING STATE OF EMERGENCY AND MAJOR DISASTER RELATED TO COVID-19,
IT IS ORDERED that cloth or other face coverings that cover the nose and mouth of a person to impede the spread of the virus during speaking, coughing, sneezing or other action, shall be required in Fayette County, Tennessee, within all publicly-accessible areas of county owned and operated facilities.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the municipalities within Fayette County can enforce the requirement for face coverings within their own facilities consistent with Executive Order 63 upon an order by the chief elected official of that municipality.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that this Order does not apply to:
- Any person who is under age 12;
- Persons in a voting site for the purpose of voting or administering an election; although such persons are strongly encouraged to wear face coverings to slow the spread of COVID-19;
- The Fayette County Public School System and all their facilities are exempt from this order. They are strongly encouraged to adopt their own guidelines and programs for wearing face coverings and may issue their own directives regarding their facilities.
This local order constitutes an order promulgated pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 58, Chapter 2, Part 1. Pursuant to Executive Order 63 and Tennessee Code Annotated §58-2-120, violation of this Order shall constitute a Class A misdemeanor.
This Order shall become effective at 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, September 30, 2020, and will expire on October 30, 2020 at 11:59 p.m., unless sooner cancelled or unless extended.
Mayor Rhea “Skip” Taylor