De Blasio asks customers to wear masks in NYC grocery stores

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) asked the city’s shoppers to wear masks in grocery stores to prevent further spread of the coronavirus in the most affected city in the country.

De Blasio announced during his Wednesday press conference that the city’s “new guidance” allows grocery stores and supermarkets to require consumers to wear face coverings when entering the stores. He encouraged the stores to put up signs at their entrances informing customers. 

“This will help everyone to remember when they’re in that kind of space it’s so important to protect each other, to protect the whole community,” he said. 

“That face covering is the smart thing to do,” de Blasio added. “Every store has the right to put up that guidance and make it a requirement in terms of entry into the store.”

“Require customers to wear face coverings when they come in.”@NYCMayor announced new guidance requiring supermarket and grocery shoppers to cover their faces, and that the City would back up any stores enforcing the guidance #coronavirusNYC pic.twitter.com/TtehBCujoA

— QuickTake by Bloomberg (@QuickTake) April 15, 2020

The mayor said the stores would be allowed to refuse entry to a customer who declines to wear a face covering. 

“We will back up those stores,” he said. “We will help you to enforce the rules. You have a right to have those rules in place.”

De Blasio encouraged city residents to comply to protect each other and supermarket and grocery store workers who are supplying them with food. 

New York City’s mayor also announced a $170 million plan, including funding to soup kitchens, food pantries and other community organizations, to ensure the city’s residents are fed during the pandemic. 

As the U.S.’s hot spot for the virus, New York City has counted 107,263 cases, 29,511 hospitalizations and 6,589 deaths as of Tuesday afternoon.

The city’s cases make up about 17.5 percent of the U.S.’s cases. Its deaths make up 25 percent of the U.S.’s total, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.