Newark orders indoor masks at public places as cases rise
FILE - A face mask production line at an OOO Medsklad production facility at BEMZ Berdsk Electromechanical Plant in the town of Berdsk, Novosibirsk Region.
NEWARK, N.J. - New Jersey's largest city is requiring that masks be worn in all public buildings as coronavirus cases are on the rise.
Mayor Ras Baraka issued an executive order Monday that is effective immediately.
It requires residents and visitors to the city to be masked when indoors. It also requires bar patrons to be seated and to wear a mask except when eating or drinking.
Newark's number of positive cases has risen in recent weeks, and the city's test positivity rate is now 11.89 percent based on a three-day rolling average. That parallels rising numbers statewide as the omicron variant has begun to spread.
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