Coronavirus impact: New ordinance requires Sonoma County residents to cover face in public to help prevent spread of COVID-19
PETALUMA, Calif. (KGO) -- A new ordinance went into effect in Sonoma County on Friday. You now have to cover your face when you are out in public to help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The masks that we were first told we did not need are now required.
"I'll get used to it," said Dave Frym, a Petaluma resident. "It's probably a good idea I guess, but I always felt if I stayed away from people, gave them their distance. It would be fine, but, we'll have to wear a mask.
"You gonna wear it?," we asked. "Yeah. I just bought two," Frym said.
He found them at Tomasini's Hardware Store which was almost the same as striking gold. We asked the owner how tough it is to get them.
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"General masks, they're just impossible," said Jeff Tomasini, the owner of Tomasini's Hardware Store.
He says it's a surprise when they arrive, and they show up in small quantities. He keeps what he has behind the counter.
"Right now, we have less than a box left, but we are just two people- two per person," said Tomasini. He isn't wearing a mask. He prefers the Italian made scarfs they sell - which were never intended to be masks. But they work.
"We had sold out of everything and one of my guys said 'hey what about these,' and we had a rack full of them. Then we sold all those," Tomasini said.
Whatever it takes, authorities say, just cover your face. Those around you appreciate it. And many are glad it is now a mandate in Sonoma County.
"We need the law," said Dennis Melfa, who lives in Petaluma. "Most people don't wear them. You go in the store and it's a mixed bag," he said.
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