LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas — Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. will sign an executive order Thursday that will require people in the City of Little Rock to wear masks in public settings.
According to the executive order, Scott said that masks must be worn in public places unless social distancing of at least six feet is possible.
The order said that residents must also wear masks inside any essential or non-essential business. That would include grocery stories, laundromats and restaurants.
Residents are required to wear masks when riding public transportation as well.
Any business in Little Rock must require its employees to wear face masks at the workplace and when performing work off-site where interaction with another person is possible.
The order gives a few exceptions to the rule which includes: inside a personal office when no other person is present, any children 2 years or younger, or while driving.
A person may not wear a mask if a medical professional says that it may "pose a risk" to the person wearing it.
Scott cited Arkansas has seen nearly 4,000 new coronavirus cases since Phase Two began on June 15 as well as a recent UAMS study that projected "active COVID-19 infections of around 150,000" by the end of September as part of the reason for the executive order.
"By the end of September, a UAMS model predicts Arkansas will reach a COVID-19 peak 50-times higher than our current infection rate," Scott said.
RELATED: UAMS study predicts Arkansas COVID-19 death increase if social distancing guidelines ignored
The mayor also cited that many people who have COVID-19 are usually asymptomatic and "that individuals who contract the virus may still transmit the virus to others before ever showing symptoms by speaking, coughing or sneezing."
You can read the full executive order below: