Mandatory face masks after 4th May – or € 150 fine

There will be strict measures both for employees and customers, starting on 4th May,  with obligatory  use of face masks in shops and indoor areas, as well as taxis and public transport like buses, along with gloves and other protective measures for the staff, as well as disinfection of all areas and of objects.

During the daily briefing on 29th April, the infectious diseases professor Tsiodras defended the introduction of obligatory face masks in closed spaces and public transport. He said that “conditions have changed and the purpose of the use of a mask is not to transmit the virus, not to avoid contracting it” as it was the case at the beginning of the pandemic.

The use of masks after 4th May  is obligatory  in closed spaces such as hospitals, supermarkets and groceries, retail and other shops, public transport and taxis, particularly in areas where there is close physical contact, like at hairdressers’, barber shops and beauty parlors and driving license schools.

“We have to learn to live with face masks, as we learned to live with helmets when riding a motorcycle and seat belts in cars,” said Nikos Papathanassis, Deputy Development and Investment Minister on Wednesday.

Guidelines for using a face mask correctly

The limit of one customer per 15 square meters (161 square feet) in supermarkets will not change — but in small shops the limit will be four customers per 20 square meters (215 square feet).

Social media users are complaining that since the masks are compulsory, the state should  provide them for free. They claim that since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the price of masks has skyrocketed and that many people cannot afford to use them all the time.

Source and photo credit: greek reporter.com