City of Lancaster logoMayor R. Rex Parris and the Lancaster City Council voted during its December 8, 2020 meeting to approve Ordinance No. 1078, effective immediately, which authorizes the City of Lancaster to enforce the mandatory public use of masks and makes any violation of the mask requirement a misdemeanor.

 

The City of Lancaster has had a mask ordinance in place since April 3, 2020, when the City Council passed Ordinance No. 1074 requiring face coverings to be worn in public. However, the number of COVID-19 cases is continuing to rise in Lancaster and across the region – prompting the City Council to take additional action.

 

“I know we all wish that the pandemic was over, but the fact is that COVID-19 is still here, and the numbers are getting alarmingly worse as we head into winter,” said Mayor R. Rex Parris. “Wearing a mask is the simplest, easiest thing we can each do to help fight this disease.”

 

According to the new ordinance passed by City Council, the Lancaster Municipal Code will be modified to make any person violating the City’s existing mask-wearing requirement guilty of a misdemeanor.

 

“The goal of this ordinance, and of our law enforcement in Lancaster in general, is to promote peace, safety, and public welfare in our communities,” Mayor Parris said. “While I would hope everyone knows by now the importance of wearing a mask, the fact that violations are now misdemeanors is one more reason to do the right thing and mask up.”

 

 For details, see a copy of the ordinance approved by City Council. For additional information about Lancaster’s response to COVID-19, see the City’s Coronavirus Information webpage.