Ky. businesses, restaurants can now be fined if employees or customers aren’t masked
Restaurants, bars and any other business not following Kentucky’s mask mandate now face fines.
And that goes for their customers as well.
The Lexington-Fayette County Health Department as well as local health departments around the state can issues citations to businesses that don’t follow the mandates for masks, social distancing or capacity limits designed to stop the spread of COVID-19, the virus responsible for more than 800 deaths in the Kentucky alone.
“When we receive a complaint, we respond to the facility (typically within 48-72 hours) to observe and to talk with management. We try to provide education and information, particularly since this is still fairly new to people,” Kevin Hall, spokesman for the Lexington health department, said in an email.
“If we see signs of violations, we issue a notice and follow up in five days. At the follow-up visit, if they continue to show signs of violations, a citation will be issued. They begin at $50, then $75 on the second and $100 for each additional.”
No citations have been issued in Lexington yet, he said.
The citations are based on guidance from the Kentucky Department of Public Health.
You can report violations online at govstatus.egov.com/kysafer or by calling 833-KYSAFER.
Pandemic restrictions issued by Beshear have been challenged by Attorney General Daniel Cameron and is before the Kentucky Supreme Court which has issued a stay on any lower court orders blocking the implementation of restrictions.
