People Being Fined 2,000 Pesos for Not Wearing a Mask

[El Presidente]

 

Numbers of People Being Fined 2,000 Pesos for Not Wearing a Mask Soar in Havana

Fine imposed on September 1 in Havana (Facebook / Eliexer Márquez)

14ymedio, Havana, 4 September 2020 — On the first two days of September along, with the implementation of the new measures in Havana to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, the authorities imposed 1,100 fines for not wearing a mask, being outside without authorization, or ingesting alcoholic beverages on the public rights-of-way.

The official press highlighted that on the 1st, 1,108 fines were imposed for not wearing or incorrectly wearing a facemask; 11 on drivers of state vehicles who traveled without authorization; 17 to people who consumed alcohol in public places; and 19, for “staying” in unauthorized spaces.

The following day, the infractions for the incorrect use of the mask reached 325, and another 11 vehicles were immobilized for circulating without authorization.

The amounts of these fines, as stated in Decree 14/2020, range between 2,000 and 3,000 pesos, in a country where the basic salary is 400 pesos per month.

However, despite the toughening of the rules and the increase in fines, the streets are still full during the day, as this newspaper has observed, and the people of Havana continue to come out to join the incessant lines outside of stores, banks, etc.