Indiana Mask Mandate Starts Today

CHICAGO (CBS) --  People in Indiana are now required to wear a mask inside public spaces and outside if they can't stay six feet apart.

The mask mandate took effect Monday after Governor Eric Holcolmb's executive order. The original plan was to include legal punishment for people who refuse to wear a mask.

But the order Governor Holcolmb signed does not include that. Instead of police local health departments should enforce the rule through educating Hoosiers on why they should wear a face covering to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

The new mask mandate begins right as Indiana tracking data shows 851 new COVID cases popped up in the state Sunday along with eight more deaths.

Indiana is averaging a dozen new deaths a day over the past week.