Costa Mesa threatens to impose fines on those out in public without masks

Glenby Ramirez, right, wipes down the escalator handrail as shoppers pass by at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa on June 11, 2020. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

by: Los Angeles Times

Posted: Jul 21, 2020 / 10:40 AM PDT

Updated: Jul 21, 2020 / 10:40 AM PDT

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Costa Mesa is engaging in a campaign to remind people who go out in public without masks that they could be cited and fined, although skeptical citizens are challenging the city’s authority and, in at least one case, calling its bluff.

Officials spread the word Saturday on the city’s Facebook and Twitter pages that anyone caught in public without a facial covering would be subject to a $100 fine.

“Don’t face a fine. Wear a mask,” read one tweet posted Saturday. “Wearing a facial covering in public is the Law. No Face Mask = $100 Fine.”

Requiring facial coverings in public was one of several orders issued during a local coronavirus emergency declared March 12 by City Manager Lori Ann Farrell Harrison, acting as the city’s director of emergency services.

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