Starting Friday, New Yorkers who can't maintain a social distance from others must wear a face mask, while Maryland residents must don a face covering before going into any retail store beginning Saturday.

“Stopping the spread is everything,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said during his daily press briefing this week. “How can you not wear a mask when you’re going to come close to a person?”

But a number of states, towns and cities have already been requiring masks for several days or weeks. New Jersey issued a similar rule last week.

Los Angeles mandated last week that shoppers and workers wear face coverings during “essential shopping.” Under the order, businesses may refuse entry to anyone not wearing a face covering.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan's order is an effort to create a statewide rule to replace patchwork orders from various local municipalities in recent days. The order requires a face covering for anyone inside any retail establishment or when riding any form of public transportation.

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In Altus, Oklahoma, fabric stores may be open, by appointment only, for the limited purpose of providing materials for masks or face coverings, KFOR reports.

There is no nationwide mandate, although President Donald Trump two weeks ago announced the recommendation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that people at least use a simple cloth face covering when they are in public spaces such as grocery stores and transit stations.

Trump pointedly noted, however, that he would not be donning one.

"I just don't want to wear one myself; it's a recommendation," the president said. "Somehow sitting in the Oval Office behind that beautiful Resolute Desk, the great Resolute Desk, I think wearing a face mask as I greet presidents, dictators, kings, queens, I don't know, I don't see it for myself."

As more mask-wearing orders crop up, Virginia and Washington, D.C., would have to overcome longstanding anti-mask laws, WTOP notes The Virginia law was passed in part as a counter to the mask-wearing Ku Klu Klan, while the D.C. law was meant to counter protesters hoping to remain anonymous.

Such laws, likely, would not apply in the age of coronavirus since the goal of any new mask orders would be for medical purposes, not to hide identity.

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A sampling of some locales already requiring a face mask:

• Laredo, Texas: The West Texas city issued an emergency mandate last month for anyone over five to wear “some form of covering over their nose and mouth” while in taxis, public transportation or inside a public building. Violators could face a fine up to $1,000.

• Beverly Hills: Locals are under orders to cover their face when outdoors, even just for a walk. “While we continue to ask our community members to remain at home, those who do go outside and the people they encounter will be safer,” Beverly Hills Mayor Lester Friedman said in a statement.

• Miami: Face coverings are required for people going into restaurants, grocery stores, pharmacies and other retail stores. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said police will enforce the measure but will help educate people before issuing fines, according to The Sun Sentinel. Similar rules are in effect in Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties.

• Chickasha, Oklahoma: People within the city limits are required to wear a cloth face mask when making a public outing for essential activities, according to KFOR.

• Riverside County, California: Residents must wear face coverings in public or face a $1.000 fine.

• Northampton, Massachusetts: A new city rule takng effect Wednesday requires all consumers and employees to wear face coverings at all times at any businesses providing essential services within the city when social distancing cannot be maintained.