On July 28, the Bethel City Council passed a resolution strongly urging people to wear a mask in public spaces. Council member Alyssa Leary made the proposal.
“We lost someone this week to COVID-19,” Leary said. “This individual was not a number in a database. This was a person who was taken too soon by the virus.”
The resolution says that people should wear masks in public spaces, like at work if you interact with the public, or while riding taxis. The policy says that people should also wear masks outdoors when they cannot maintain a 6-foot distance from others. There would be exceptions for those with medical conditions or jobs which prevent them from wearing a mask.
As a second class city, Bethel does not have the authority to enforce a mask mandate. It does, however, have the power to require masks on all city-owned property. Council member Michelle DeWitt urged business owners in the city to require their employees and patrons to wear masks.
