Updated at 5:50 p.m.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser on Wednesday signed a new order requiring people to wear masks in most circumstances while in public. The edict will stay in effect until at least Oct. 9, the date to which Bowser extended the District’s official public health emergency via a separate executive order she also issued Wednesday.

The mask order says “persons leaving their residences shall wear a mask when they are likely to come into contact with another person, such as being within six feet of another person for more than a fleeting time.” Additionally, it requires operators and passengers of taxis, ride-hailing vehicles, buses, Metro, and other forms of shared transportation to wear masks at all times.

The order carves out exceptions for people who are in the middle of eating, drinking, or smoking; doing “vigorous outdoor exercise” while maintaining distance from others; are alone in enclosed offices; are younger than 2 years old; need their lips to be read by those who are deaf or hard of hearing; or are unable to wear masks due to medical conditions. Workers whose jobs force them to use equipment that precludes mask-wearing are also exempted.

Employers must provide masks for their employees, while businesses that are open to the public must post outdoor signage requiring masks to be worn inside. Such establishments “shall exclude or attempt to eject” people who aren’t wearing masks, says Bowser’s order.

The mayor is authorizing D.C. health officials to come up with rules that enable penalties to be levied on “any individual or entity that knowingly violates” her new edict, except in the case of youth under 18. While the Metropolitan Police Department will be responsible for enforcement, Bowser acknowledged during a press conference Wednesday that police couldn’t possibly ensure absolute compliance with the order and encouraged the public to comply voluntarily to help stop the transmission of COVID-19.

The order empowers the D.C. attorney general’s office to prosecute purported violations, which could result in fines of up to $1,000 each. It also allows city regulatory agencies to revoke or suspend licenses, permits, and other key documents for violators.

Original story, 1:17 p.m.:

With the District and the surrounding area seeing an uptick in COVID-19 cases, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said Wednesday she will sign a new executive order requiring people to wear masks whenever they’re outside of their homes.

The order will mandate mask-wearing while waiting for the bus, ordering food at restaurants, sitting in cubicles in open offices and walking dogs, among other activities. A copy of the order was not immediately available, but Bowser said it will contain “enforcement language” regarding penalties for alleged violations. It’s unclear how long the order will remain in effect.

“Basically, what it says is if you leave home, you should wear a mask,” Bowser said at a press conference. There will be a few exemptions to the mask mandate, including for children under 3 as well as people “vigorously exercising,” “actively eating or drinking,” or being alone in an enclosed office, the mayor added.

Although Bowser and other D.C. officials have encouraged people to wear masks during the pandemic, the new order formalizes that recommendation, going above and beyond existing guidance from the city’s health department. Recently, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reviewed two new case studies out of Massachusetts and Missouri, and found that cloth-based masks “are a critical tool in the fight against COVID-19 that could reduce the spread of the disease, particularly when used universally within communities.”

“There is increasing evidence that cloth face coverings help prevent people who have COVID-19 from spreading the virus to others,” the CDC reported. Around the U.S., coronavirus cases continue to increase: More than 3.9 million people have been infected and more than 142,000 have died as a result of the disease.

D.C. has seen more than 11,500 COVID-19 infections and 580 deaths to date, according to city data. The District also just recorded its highest one-day total of new infections since June 3, at 102.

Bowser said wearing masks in public is especially important without a vaccine or cure for the coronavirus yet available. She pointed to “other parts of the world” that have reduced COVID-19 rates even without those solutions and noted that the longer the virus persists in the District, the worse things will be for students, workers, businesses, and arts and cultural institutions.

“We’re all pretty sick of dealing with the pandemic,” she said. “We’re four months in, people are tired and in some cases are letting down their guards. But we all want to get on the other side of this virus so it is important that we remain vigilant.”