Health official: Columbia mask enforcement to be complaint-driven

How far do Columbia businesses have to go to avoid a fine over this new mask ordinance?

Tracey Bathe with the local health department says if a non-mask wearing customer says he has a medical condition, the business can leave it there.

“We don’t want things to escalate. We don’t want to use shame,” Bathe said during a Facebook Live session on Wednesday. “We want to keep our employees of our local businesses safe too.”

Columbia does not exactly plan to bust out the SWAT team to enforce the mask ordinance. Bathe says the city will mostly just respond to complaints. The focus at least at first will be on educating people about the ordinance, not handing out fines.

“We’re not coming from a place of wanting to be punitive. We are coming from a place of we are trying to figure out a whole different mindset of how to live our lives.”

The ordinance takes effect Friday at 5 p.m. Some key links:

Read the ordinance.

See answers to some frequently asked questions about the ordinance.

Here is some guidance for businesses from the health department, including suggested signs you could post.