State College Borough Council voted Tuesday to approve an ordinance requiring mask-wearing in public and limiting most gatherings to 10 people in an effort to keep the COVID-19 pandemic in check after Penn State's fall semester starts.
Someone who violates the ordinance can face a $300 fine.
Before the vote, Boalsburg’s Carla Myers said she hoped council would pass the ordinance ahead of students’ return to State College later this month.
“Although right now school may be safe, we have no idea how bad things will get once the students return,” Myers said.
Under the ordinance, face coverings are required anywhere in the borough where social distancing is not possible.
Gatherings of more than 10 people at houses are prohibited, and groups of 10 or more people cannot play sports together, regardless if they are inside or outside.
No more than ten people will be allowed to wait in line outside of a business, and they need to be six feet apart. Groups at public parks are limited to 25 people.
Borough Council Member Evan Myers said he thinks the ordinance could help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
“We need to act like our lives depend on what we do, because they do,” Myers said.
The ordinance will be in effect until Jan. 31, 2021, or until the Pennsylvania Department of Health and Centre Region Council of Governments rescind their emergency declarations.
