WHEREAS, on March 9, 2020, the State of Rhode Island Governor, Gina M. Raimondo, issued Executive Order 20-02 declaring a state of emergency due to the outbreak of COVID-19; and

WHEREAS, on March 15, 2020, Mayor Roberto L. DaSilva, issued Executive Order 2020-004 declaring a state of municipal emergency due to the outbreak of COVID-19; and

WHEREAS, on March 23, 2020, Mayor DaSilva issued Executive Order 2020-009, closing all close-contact businesses and entertainment establishments within the City of East Providence; and

WHEREAS, on March 30, 2020, Mayor DaSilva issued Executive Order 2020-013, closing all non-critical retail businesses within the City of East Providence; and

WHEREAS, the number of persons testing positive for COVID-19 in Rhode and across the country continues to rise and further action is needed to limit the spread of the virus; and

WHEREAS, critical businesses within East Providence remain open and some of their employees must be physically present at the work site, requiring further measures to keep such employees safe; and

WHEREAS, the CDC now recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Mayor Roberto L. DaSilva, by virtue of the authority vested in me as the Mayor of the City of East Providence, pursuant to the Rhode Island General Laws and the Home Rule Charter of the City of East Providence, do hereby order and direct the following:

1. All employees of customer/client-facing businesses and non-profit organizations, office-based businesses and non-profit organizations, and any other such business category as determined by the Department of Business Regulation (DBR) that are still in operation shall wear cloth face coverings unless an employee can easily, continuously, and measurably maintain at least six (6) feet of distance from other employees for the duration of his or her work (e.g., solo office) or unless doing so would damage the employee’s health. All such employees must wear face coverings in any entry, exit and common areas of the business, including, but not limited to: check-in, registration, reception, hallways, bathrooms, breakrooms, timeclock areas, elevators, and stairways.
   
2. All such businesses must provide, at their expense, face coverings or materials for the making of such face coverings for their employees. Such coverings or materials may be made available staff-wide or individually upon employee request so long as the result is organization-wide use of face coverings. Nothing shall prevent an employee from fashioning his or her own cloth face mask.
3. Nothing shall prevent an employee from wearing a surgical grade mask or other more protective face covering if the person is already in possession of such equipment, or if the employer is otherwise required to provide its employees with more protective equipment due to the nature of the work involved.
4. All customer-facing businesses shall take steps to require customers to wear face coverings, including the posting of such requirement at the entrance of the business and such other steps as may be required by DBR. No person under two (2) years of age or any person whose health would be damaged thereby shall be required to wear a face covering.

This Order shall take effect on Saturday April 18, 2020 and remain in full force and effect through May 8, 2020, unless extended by and with the consent of the City Council.