Beginning today, Thursday, April 30, Monterey County is requiring the public and employees, including agricultural employees, to wear a face covering. Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties have issued similar orders.

According to the Order, all essential businesses must require their employees, contractors, owners, and volunteers to wear a face covering at the workplace and when performing work off-site any time the employee, contractor, owner, or volunteer is: 

• Interacting in person with any member of the public;
• Working in any space visited by members of the public, regardless of whether anyone from the public is present at the time;
• Working in any space where food is prepared or packaged for sale or distribution to others;
• Working in or walking through common areas such as hallways, stairways, elevators, and parking facilities; or
• In any room or enclosed area when other people (except for members of the person’s own household or residence) are present. 

A face covering is not required when a person is in a personal office when others outside of that person’s household are not present as long as the public does not regularly visit the room.

The Order also directs businesses to take reasonable measures, such as posting signs, to remind their customers and the public of the requirement that they wear a face covering while inside of or waiting in line to enter the business, facility, or location.

As used in this Order, a face-covering means a covering made of cloth, fabric, or other soft permeable material, without holes, that covers only the nose and mouth and surrounding areas of the lower face.  Examples of face coverings include a scarf or bandana; a neck gaiter; a homemade covering made from a t-shirt, sweatshirt, or towel, held on with rubber bands or otherwise; or a mask, which need not be medical-grade (which should be reserved for health care providers and first responders). A face covering may be factory-made, or may be handmade and improvised from ordinary household materials.

Click here for a video showing how to make a face covering and additional information about how to wear and clean face coverings from the CDC website.

Click here to read the full text of the Monterey County Order. The Santa Cruz County Order can be found here, and the San Benito County Order can be found here.

Click here for an FAQ from the Monterey County Health Department.