Manama: People who are failing to wear a face mask in public places of Bahrain will be hit with increased fines of 20 BD, it has been announced.
Interior Minister Rashed bin Abdulla Al Khalifa decreed the mandatory wearing of protective masks in public, industrial and commercial places until further notice.
The fine has been increased by four times amid a spike in coronavirus cases in the country.
According to the decree, violators will be penalised by an on-the-spot fine of BD20. Those who refuse to pay the fine will be liable to legal action including referral to public prosecution.
Early this month, a number of MP’s had submitted a proposal to raise the fine for not wearing face-masks from BD5 to BD20. They had noted that the proposal would contribute to reducing the level of infection and reaching the goal of eliminating the pandemic in a way that restores economic activity and normalcy in the Kingdom.
It is notable that face-mask violations reached high levels as it exceeded 23,729 since wearing the face-mask in public places was made mandatory.
Bahrain has reported a total of 68,190 virus cases and 236 related deaths to date. Bahrain registered 489 new virus infections on Friday and five deaths. Three men – two Bahrainis, aged 67 and 42, and an expat, 43 – and two Bahraini women, 35 and 78, succumbed to the coronavirus.
The country so far conducted 13,88,323 tests. Of the total cases, 61475 were recovered.
There are currently 55 COVID-19 cases in a critical condition, and 140 cases receiving treatment. 6,479 cases are stable out of a total of 6,424 active cases.
