Western District of Pennsylvania court employees, visitors, must wear mask
Pittsburgh PA April 26 2020
Visitors and employees at federal courthouses in the Western District of Pennsylvania will have to wear face masks from now on to try to stop the spread of COVID-19.
Mark Hornak, the chief judge, issued an order Tuesday saying employees should wear masks in common areas of the building, including court security officers and the U.S. marshals.
They don’t have to wear the masks in private work areas as long as they are not too close to each other.
The federal courts in Pittsburgh, Johnstown and Erie have been deemed essential and remain open during the crisis, although they are operating with skeleton crews. Most court employees are working from home, and hearings have been postponed or are being conducted by video.
Gov. Tom Wolf told reporters that he had not yet made a decision on whether to extend the stay-at-home order for residents past April 30.
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Very few visitors are arriving at the courthouses; those who do must now wear a face mask, the judge said. That includes lawyers, litigants, contractors and vendors.
If someone shows up without a mask, the judge said the court security officers will ask why the person is there and then contact the office being visited to see if the business can be handled without entry to the building.
The judge said he is mandating the masks “in the spirit of the guidance issued by” Gov. Tom Wolf.
