The Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian parliament, has passed a law to fine business owners if their employees or customers don’t wear face masks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
On Dec. 17, 241 lawmakers voted for the law in the second reading. Now, for it to come into force, President Volodymyr Zelensky has to sign it.
According to the law initiated by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, when employees notice a customer isn’t wearing a mask, they have to stop servicing them and call the police if the person refuses to put on their mask.
A mask has to cover both the nose and mouth.
If employees of a restaurant or a museum, for example, don’t follow this protocol, sanitary-epidemiological service workers can fine these businesses $122–$183.
People think the quarantine is over because the government eased the restrictions, and so they tend to ignore the mask regime in public places, an explanatory note for the law states.
“Businesses and organizations must be responsible for violations of sanitary rules in order to prevent an increase in the number of coronavirus patients,” the note reads.
The parliament passed a similar law on Nov. 6 that allowed authorities to fine people $6-9 on the spot for not wearing masks in public transport or other public places. Since the rule came into force, Ukrainians caught maskless in public have paid over $16,000 into the state budget.
To curb the massive spread of COVID-19, the Ukrainian government plans to impose a full lockdown across the country after the New Year and Christmas holidays on Jan. 8–24.
