STATESBORO — Mayor Jonathan McCollar issued a city-wide face covering mandate Tuesday evening, effective immediately.

This mandate follows an executive order signed by Governor Brian Kemp on Saturday that extends existing COVID-19 restrictions in Georgia and gives cities and counties the ability to issue face covering requirements.

Face coverings will be required in public spaces as long as Bulloch County has a prevalence of COVID-19 cases over the past 14 days of 100 or more cases per 100,000 people. This follows guidelines from the Georgia Department of Public Health.

Face coverings are not required in personal vehicles or on residential property, in enclosed spaces when a person is alone or with just household members, at any polling places and in outdoor spaces where social distancing can be maintained.

Children under age 10 and people with medical or religious reasons for not wearing face coverings are not required to wear them under this order.

While private businesses can continue to enforce the wearing of face coverings within their property, this mandate does not require them to do this if they do not consent to enforcing the ordinance on their own property.