NEW YORK – To reduce the spread of the coronavirus, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo issued an order on April 13 requiring New Yorkers to wear masks in public when they are not able to maintain a minimum of six feet from each.

According to the governor’s order if you are going to be out in the public and you cannot maintain a 6-foot distance from others, you must wear a cloth face covering.

Have a cloth face covering of some kind available when you go out in the public for situations where close proximity to others is difficult to avoid.  Examples of this would be when using public transit or riding the bus, taking a subway, walking in a busy neighborhood (where people congregate at intersections), shopping at a busy pharmacy or sitting in a small waiting room with others.

Cloth face coverings fashioned from household items or made at home from common materials at low cost can be used. 

Wearing a cloth face covering is not a substitute for the current recommendation to use social distancing, handwashing, and others.

Recent studies show that the virus can spread between people interacting in close proximity – for example speaking, coughing, or sneezing – even if those people are not exhibiting symptoms and are not feeling sick.  In light of this evidence, the CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to do.

Please treat others in your community with kindness and patience.

—From the Chenango County Health Department