Salem Will Fine Downtown, Park Visitors Without Face Coverings

SALEM, MA — Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll and the board of health approved an emergency order calling for fines for people who do not wear face coverings in the downtown district.

The new order goes into effect Saturday and will be enforced from 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. The order, which was approved Friday and will remain in effect until further notice, does not specify the amount of the fines. The order does not apply to children under the age of two and people with medical exemptions.

Salem health agent David Greenbaum said fines are $50 for a first offense, $150 for a second offense and $300 for a third offense.

"As the state and the city work through the reopening phases and we see more people come to the city, the board of health and the city felt that the opportunity to physically or socially distance from others would be greatly diminished," Greenbaum said. We have already seen this in the downtown area and places like the Willows and Forest River Park on nice days...This decision was made in the interest of public health with the intent of reducing the spread of the COVID-19 virus in the community."

The order covers the B-5 zoning district, which includes Salem Willows, Winter Island and Forest River Park. The order requires businesses to bar people from entering if they are not wearing a face covering.

"All businesses shall post a sign on their main entrance doors advising consumers or patrons that it is mandatory that the consumer or patron entering the business or establishment wear a face covering," the order said. "All business shall be responsible for requiring and overseeing that patrons waiting or queued to enter their place of business wear a face covering while waiting."

The complete order and a map showing where it applies is on the city's Website.

In the latest town-by-town coronavirus data released by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Salem saw a decrease in the number of cases. It also had a positive test rate over the 14 days ended Wednesday of 1.27 percent, which is below the state rate of 1.91 percent and a level that health officials say it is safe to begin relaxing social distancing measures.

Dave Copeland covers Salem and other North Shore communities for Patch. He can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).