A county in Ohio has launched a hotline so that callers can report people who do not use face masks, amid concerns over a surge in the number of coronavirus cases across the state.
Armond Budish, the executive of Cuyahoga county, announced the service on Friday and said complaints would be managed by county officers and would be forwarded to local health authorities.
“This is not intended to be going out and finding people not wearing masks. We want people to wear their masks … We want people to do it voluntarily,” Mr Budish said.
The executive added that charges could potentially be brought against people who violated the rule numerous times or who committed acts of ”serious non-compliance”.
Mr Budish’s comments came two days after the wearing of masks was made obligatory in the seven Ohio counties most badly affected by Covid-19, following an order given by the Republican state governor Mike DeWine.
Gov DeWine’s office said that children under the age of 10 were exempt from the rule.
Those breaching the order could be punished by up to 90 days in jail and a $750 fine, according to Mr Budish.
As of Friday, 3,032 people in Ohio had died as a result of the virus and almost 63,000 had tested positive for Covid-19.
On Friday, the state saw its highest number of new infections since the beginning of the pandemic, with 1,525 new cases and 26 deaths recorded.
