Gov. Tom Wolf issues order requiring all essential employees, customers to wear masks inside businesses

PENNSYLVANIA - Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf issued a new order for essential businesses. Starting on Sunday, businesses are now being ordered to provide a number of protective measures for their employees and customers.

The order requires that all workers wear a mask and customers who go inside the businesses must also wear a mask. A business can deny you entry if you are not wearing a mask unless it's providing medication, medical supplies or food, in which case, the business must provide alternative methods of pick-up or delivery of goods.

FULL COVERAGE: CORONAVIRUS 

The order also requires businesses to stagger start and stop times for workers to provide sufficient space for breaks and meals to maintain social distancing and conduct meetings and training virtually.

Wolf said the latest order is meant to protect supermarket cashiers, power plant operators and other critical workers who can’t stay home and are at heightened risk of contracting the new coronavirus.

“Our essential workers have stepped up to the plate and are keeping us safe, healthy, fed and sheltered during this time, and we all need to thank them (by) doing everything we can to prevent ourselves from spreading the virus to them,” he said at a video news conference.

The order goes into effect Sunday, April 19 at 8 p.m.

Pennsylvania on Wednesday reached 26,490 confirmed cases of the coronavirus. The death toll climbed to 647.

For more information on the order, please click here.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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