Fargo mayor Tim Mahoney on Monday issued a mandatory mask order for the city, one that requires a mask in all indoor events where wearers are exposed to non-household members and where social distancing cannot be attained.

The mandate, which carries no penalty for non-compliance, has exceptions for children younger than school age.

Earlier Monday, Mahoney said he would like to see a statewide mask mandate as the coronavirus continues to spin out of control.

Cass County, which includes Fargo, had over 200 new cases Monday and has had nearly 8,000 since the pandemic began. It’s been one of the hardest-hit spots in a state that has ranked worst in the nation for daily new cases per capita the past two weeks.

North Dakota leads the nation in the number of new cases per capita in the last two weeks, a distinction it has held many times in the last couple of months, according to Johns Hopkins University researchers.