Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) is directing all grocery stores and food markets in the city to require customers to wear face masks before entering.
The order, which Bowser released on Twitter Wednesday night and discussed during a news conference Thursday, also requires all farmers’ markets in the city, including the D.C. seafood market, to apply for waivers in order to continue operations. Those waivers will only be granted to markets that provide plans for enforcing social distancing guidelines.
Customers will additionally be required to shop at least six feet apart from those not in their immediate families and will not be allowed to enter stores if they are exhibiting coronavirus symptoms.
It was unclear how many markets, including the city’s historic Eastern Market, would be forced to close due to the order.
“Our grocery workers are on the front line of the response to this pandemic. All of us … need to do everything in our power to keep them safe,” Bowser said Thursday, according to NBC 4.