Mask Mandate Enforcement Challenges

Some Bluegrass communities are turning to fines to keep compliance with direction from Frankfort.

Tonight --- manning the mask mandate --- making sure everyone is covering up -- is creating stressful challenges for local leaders.

But as --- chief western kentucky bureau reporter erran huber explains -- bluegrass communities are now turning to fines.

Tonight--with governor andy beshear's mask mandate already in full swing.

Making sure that order is carried out falling to those already tasked with a heavy burden of fighting on the front lines against covid 19.

"it's going to be enforced by local health departments" like in hopkins county--where the health department there has been tasked with being on the lookout.

"what the businesses don't want to happen, is they don't want to be cited or fined, or even shut down by the state government."

Which means businesses too now have to keep an eye on who coming innd who covered up one restaurant owner we spoke to says--he's already seeing enough in the way of challenges when it comes to just trying to operate a business during a pandemic.

"i don't think it's our job to police the public.

We're already under strain as it is--it's killing our business.

I think that's been more of an undue burden on us."

And the idea of businesses facing a fine themselves if a custome* comes in without a mask orries those who say their finances are already strained by the pandemic alone.

My staff, i've had to reduce my staff again this week, just because business is going to go down, since i can only have 25 percent in here.

So, it hurts everybody, it hurts everybody.

The governor's mask mandate-- and the need for those in hopkins county and across the bluegrass state to keep an eye on masking up-- is currently set to expire august 10.

But even before the first round is over--the governor has already talked of extending it.

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