Essential Tustin businesses required to have employees wear face coverings

On April 20, 2020, Tustin City Manager, Matthew West, acting in his capacity as Director of Emergency Services, approved an order requiring all essential businesses operating in the City of Tustin to require their employees to wear face coverings whenever one or more co-workers or patrons are present.

“Since the onset of COVID-19, the City of Tustin has remained focused on protecting our first responders and essential workers,” West said. “This order further prioritizes our commitment to the health and safety of our community, flattening the curve, and being able to get back to normal as soon as we can.”

The order also strongly encourages those businesses that provide services or sales of retail goods food, or banking services to require their patrons to wear face coverings, and strongly encourages grocery stores to establish dedicated shopping hours for those aged 60 and older and for other at-risk populations, such as those with physical disabilities, pregnant women, or those with compromised immune systems, who have been advised to avoid leaving home as much as possible.

Face coverings, as outlined in guidance from the California Department of Public Health and Orange County Health Officer, may be factory made or sewn by hand, or can be improvised from household items. Essential workers and patrons are discouraged from using medical-grade face masks, such as N95 masks, in order to preserve the limited supply of such masks for medical personnel, medical facilities, and first responders.

The order went into effect immediately and shall remain until further notice. West further stated “this order is intended to be yet another tool in the fight against COVID-19. Tustin is a great community and we will continue to rise to the occasion.”

Ratification of the order will be considered by the City Council at a Special Council meeting on April 21.

The Tustin Police Department remains optimistic our businesses will comply with this order. We are asking for voluntary compliance. We are in this together and getting through it requires a team effort.