(NPR) New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday that the city will impose fines on people who refuse to wear face coverings, after it saw a positivity rate for coronavirus tests of over 3% for the first time since June.
The fine is up to $1,000, the mayor’s office told NPR.
City personnel will hand out free masks to anyone who is not wearing a face covering, the mayor said.
“Anyone who refuses to wear a face covering will be told that if they don’t put one on, they will be fined,” de Blasio said. He said it would start immediately and on a large scale. “That will happen aggressively, clearly.”
“Our goal, of course, is to give everyone a free face mask and get them to wear it. We don’t want to fine people,” said de Blasio.