Although some have already been wearing face coverings, Northampton County is now requiring all county employees to wear them to help protect others from COVID-19, County Executive Lamont McClure announced in a news release Friday.
The new policy–which took effect May 5–is temporary and is for all county employees who work in agencies under the auspices of the County Executive.
It doesn’t affect employees in the Department of Corrections or at Gracedale–the county-owned nursing home–where the wearing of face masks was already required at all times.
“All other employees must wear surgical or cloth face masks at all times when providing service to another person, whether that person is a member of the public or an employee and whether the service is provided in a county office, county worksite or on property not owned or managed by the county,” the news release said.
Employees are now required to wear a face mask whenever they are in confined spaces such as break rooms or restrooms in which they could come closer than six feet away from another person.
One exception for employees is that when they are at their own work stations and at least six feet away from other people, they may choose whether or not to wear a face mask.
Employees who have an underlying health condition that prevents them from wearing a mask can request accommodation for that under the county’s Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) policy.
“As Northampton County employees we need to set a good example for others,” the news release said.
It noted that “surgical and cloth face masks are recommended by the Centers for Disease Control to protect other people, who may be at an elevated risk if they are exposed to COVID-19, from coming in contact with any COVID-19 infected droplets transmitted through sneezing or coughing.”
Under an order issued by Pennsylvania health secretary Dr. Rachel Levine last month, the use of face masks has been required in many business settings statewide since April 19.
In addition to the face mask policy, Northampton County has also expanded its use of temperature screening to help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.
According to Friday’s news release, all employees must now be temperature-screened by Northampton County sheriff’s deputies, except for workers at sites that aren’t close to buildings in which the deputies conduct screenings. Those employees must be screened by their office head or supervisor.
Among Pennsylvania counties, Northampton County has been among those most impacted by the pandemic, with McClure last month activating the National Guard to help staff the epicenter of the county’s outbreak–Gracedale.
On Friday, McClure provided an update on the total number of county residents who have died from COVID-19, which he said stood at 187 as of Thursday, May 14.
Twenty-eight of the 187 coronavirus victims died in Lehigh County.
An additional 18 non-residents of Northampton County have died from the illness within the county.
As of Friday two Hellertown borough residents (one within and one outside the county) and one Lower Saucon Township resident had died from COVID-19, per county officials.
According to the data included in Friday’s update, the average age of county residents who have died from COVID-19 within the county is approximately 82.
Gov. Tom Wolf announced Friday that an additional 12 counties in Pennsylvania will begin to reopen by moving to the yellow phase of his COVID-19 recovery plan May 22. However, Northampton and Lehigh counties are not among them.
Both counties are under a stay-at-home order issued by Wolf in late March until June 4.
For more information about and data related to the response to COVID-19 in Northampton County, follow the county on Facebook and visit the County of Northampton COVID-19 Information Dashboard.
