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Approval of Valdez Public Health Mandate #003 - Requirement for Masks or Cloth Face Coverings
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SUBMITTED BY: Requested by Council Member Devens and Council Member Sorum, Submitted by Sheri Pierce, MMC, City Clerk
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SUMMARY STATEMENT:
Council member Devens and Council Member Sorum requested this item be placed on the July 7th agenda for consideration by the City Council. Council policy states that any two council members or the Mayor may request an item be placed on the agenda for action by the council.
The World Health Organization has indicated that COVID-19 is spread primarily by respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes and droplets can also be generated by talking, laughing, or exhaling.
The Director for Center for Disease Control ("CDC"), Dr. Robert Redfield, stated as many as one in four people who are infected show no signs of having COVID-19, and people experiencing no symptoms can spread COVID-19 more widely than previously thought.
The CDC has stated that people are the most contagious before they start showing symptoms of COVID-19, and individuals can be infected with the virus and be contagious even when they have no symptoms.
Dr. Tom Ingelsby, Director of John Hopkins Center for Health Security, has determined that face coverings should be required because COVID-19 can spread when asymptomatic people go out in public and requiring individuals to wear face masks will reduce the transmission of the virus.
The CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies).
The United States Surgeon General, Dr. Jerome Adams, acknowledges that there is a significant amount of asymptomat...
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