CINCINNATI — Mayor John Cranley announced Monday he is signing an executive order mandating that people must maintain six feet of distance between one another in public outdoor spaces to prevent large crowds from gathering.
During a press conference Cranley held in tandem with officials from Hamilton County, the mayor explained that six feet of distance between people is crucial to maintaining the social distancing needed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in public spaces.
He said Cincinnati Police will have the authority to, as reasonably possible, break up large groups and ask people to move along. He added that police will not be performing any arrests for people congregating in public, but they will be monitoring public spaces and asking people violating the distance rule to move along.
There are common-sense exemptions to this order, Cranley said, like people in transit inside vehicles with one another and couples and families in public together.
He also explained that passing someone on a sidewalk, or casually passing other people in public does not apply here either. The order is primarily to prevent large crowds from gathering in outdoor, public spaces.
Cranley emphasized that the city still would like to encourage people to get outside, exercise and enjoy public parks and trails while still practicing social distancing.
As of the press conference held at 1:30 p.m. Monday afternoon, there are still no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Hamilton County.
