The BOE (the official gazette) of the 19th of May, has published the Order SND / 422/2020, of May 19, which regulates the conditions for the mandatory use of masks during the health crisis caused by COVID-19. You can find it here.
With this Order, the ministry of health has stablished the use of mask mandatory. I will try to explain here in plain English the consequences of this order.
So, is the use of mask compulsory?
YES. Use will be compulsory for all people, from children from 6 years of age, both in closed and open spaces where the sanitary distance of 2 meters is impossible to be guaranteed
People six years of age and older(article 2) are required to wear masks in the spaces indicated in Article 3. That means all kind of places ( indoor and outdoor) as far as you cannot keep the 2 metres separation recommended by social distancing which means keeping space between yourself and other people
Are there any exceptions?
The obligation contained in the previous paragraph will not be enforceable in the following cases:
- People who present some type of respiratory difficulty that may be aggravated by the use of a mask.
- People whom the use of a mask is contraindicated for duly justified health reasons, or who, due to their situation of disability or dependency, present behavioural changes that make their use unfeasible.
- Development of activities in which, due to their own nature of these, the use of the mask is incompatible.
- Cause of force majeure or situation of need.
Can I be sanctioned?
Yes. You could be sanctioned by the Police, same as all the previous orders and regulations, like doing sports out of the hours regulated for that purpose.
However, as all the previous regulations, there is a huge ambiguity. It is open to the interpretation of the policeman , in case you are not wearing a mask, if your case is one of the exceptions provided in article 2.2. For example , it is mandatory to wear a mask if I am running? If I am eating and drinking at a restaurant terrace , do I have to wear a mask? It will be up to the police the final decision of sanction you. Just in case, take with you all medical documentation which can prove that you shouldn’t wear a mask.
However, try to make an effort to keep people around you safe .
As the government did in previous occasions, we expect authorities to provide further and deeper instructions in this respect . The opposite would be, in my opinion, against the principle of legal certainty. Luckily, we could always appeal against the sanction decision and a court would take all the circumstances into account.
Stay sane and safe
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