Mercer County, Pa. - Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf issued a statewide order to make face masks mandatory in public starting July 1, with some exceptions. Click here to see full order. 

Mercer County officials said enforcement of this directive is unlikely.

"Sometimes these orders are very difficult," Chairman of Mercer County Commissioners, Matt McConnell said. " I believe it's well-intentioned... I believe the concern is for the 4th of July with things opening back up; We want to be very careful, and we want to make sure the economy can continue in Pennsylvania, especially here in Mercer County."

"When in doubt about a circumstance or if a specific circumstance is not included in the order, people should err on the side of caution and wear a mask," The Pennsylvania Health Department said, "Regarding enforcement, we are relying on the good sense and cooperative spirit of Pennsylvanians to follow the Sec. of Health’s mask-wearing requirement order, and at this time law enforcement will not be charged with enforcing this latest order with citations for noncompliance. Other existing orders, such as the business safety order, will continue to be enforced with educational tactics, warnings and possible citations for non-compliance."

When asking about what makes this new mandate different than previous mask orders, the health department said, "The previous mask order was primarily in reference to businesses and masking inside businesses, and employers ensuring their employees are masked. This guidance aims to ensure that anyone who is outside their home and cannot consistently social distance is wearing a mask."

Mercer County does have the option to create laws that would strictly enforce this, but the county District Attorney, Pete Acker, said he will not be doing this because he said there are bigger crimes the county needs to focus on.

"I do not anticipate from local police or the district attorney having the time or resources in order to follow up with all that," McConnell said. "It is really one of those orders that we would hope that people would do, but let's be realistic, can you enforce every law that's out there? This is one that would be very hard to enforce."