People wear masks on Fourth Ave as mandates go into effect

TUCSON, Ariz. (KOLD News 13) - It was the first weekend with new mask policies in Tucson and Pima County.

Sunday was a slow day on Fourth Avenue, but not the slowest Joe Marshall has ever seen. He works at Tiny Town, that just reopened for in-store customers for the first time since March.

“It’s actually been really good,” said Marshall. “Everyone was pretty good about wearing a mask, washing their hands, only one person didn’t want to (wear a mask).”

Masks are required in the store, and they have bandanas for free if someone needs a covering. Durand Shipley, who was shopping in the store Sunday, recently started wearing a mask in public.

“I kind of do it for the intensity of the positive cases that area coming, as a precautionary measure,” said Shipley.

The City of Tucson and Pima County now require masks in public, which includes retail and outdoor places people congregate. A welcome sight for two other afternoon shoppers, who say they have worn masks before the mandate.

“It’s a very small inconvenience for an individual to wear a mask, but the benefits could be very big,” said Kacper Wierzchos, who was shopping on Fourth Avenue Sunday.

Anyone over five years old needs to wear a mask or face covering in a public place. Enforcement will start with education and local leaders hope that’s all they will need. Tucson Mayor Regina Romero said last week blatant disregard could lead to a civil penalty. You can report businesses that you don’t think are following these new requirements at pima.gov.