FAYETTEVILLE -- Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced Friday he signed an executive order to allow Arkansas cities to adopt a model ordinance to require the wearing of face masks in response to the covid-19 pandemic.
Fayetteville's City Council voted 8-0 to require masks in public in June, with certain exceptions, and to spend $100,000 for a public safety campaign.
The state ordinance will supersede any current city ordinances for wearing face masks that currently exist, Hutchinson said Friday in his daily press briefing.
"We could work through the Municipal League on any changes that are needed in the ordinances that are out there," he said.
The state worked with the Arkansas Municipal League over the past week to create the model ordinance, he said, which can be put into effect by cities at this time.
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There's no enforcement mechanism built into the ordinance, said John Wilkerson, Municipal League general council, at the briefing.
"That was by design," Wilkerson said. "We took the approach that educating and informing is the most reasonable measure."
Hutchinson said the state waited until now to create the model ordinance because he wanted to allow time to fully educate the public on the value of wearing face masks and to ensure consistent policies throughout the state.
"I do not want to have 500 cities across Arkansas having 500 different ordinances and all approaching it in different ways," he said.
The ordinance presents flexibility for cities that experience an increase in cases of covid-19 and incorporates the recommendations of the Arkansas Department of Health, Hutchinson said.
Arkansas experienced an increase of 547 cases of covid-19 in the past day, said Dr. Nate Smith, the state's health secretary, at the briefing.
Washington County had the highest increase in cases with 84, he said, followed by Benton County with 74 and Pulaski County with 74.
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Mary Jordan can be reached by email at mjordan@nwadg.com or on Twitter @NWAMaryJ.