Mas‘k’arades!

Drawn from a black hole of scientific study, speculative reports on the effectiveness of masks in preventing the spread of coronavirus have allowed leaders to be equally ambiguous.

Nevertheless, when taking the majority view of those studies, the World Health Organisation distinguishes clearly where and when masks should be used, and by whom. So when it comes to Gibraltar, a community that saw its Covid-19 cases practically flatline for over two months, the last government announcement caught many by surprise, including media.

MURKY MONOLOGUE

Chief Minister Fabian Picardo slammed the community’s complacency in his 20-minute-long press conference before sharing ‘doomsday’ statistics from outside the Rock’s bubble to justify new robust legislation.

“It is as if the whole population of Gibraltar would have died from Monday to Friday,” he told the population in a government press conference. “We are far from out of the woods. We have seen people become more complacent. There is less hand sanitising in shops, and the wearing of masks, where it is compulsory to do so by permit -to be allowed to conduct business during lockdown-, is also becoming lax.”

He warned that, although the wearing of masks or face coverings in public places is not mandatory, it already must be worn in certain circumstances, such as on public transport and in restaurants.

“We see that these are not always rules that are being observed,” he added. “We do not discard having to extend compulsory mask use in the future.”

Picardo said that it was now:

“Mandatory to wear face coverings in certain confined spaces, on public transport, at hair dressers and beauticians, in restaurants (including terraces) and for staff working in shops. Failure to comply with these regulations results in an on-the-spot fine of £100.”

JUMPING THE GUN

This was interpreted by many that the fine would fall on anybody failing to wear a mask in the aforementioned areas. However, the change in law merely took away the liability from businesses and placed them directly on employees, while also including public transport users, ironically largely comprised of the same employees. In essence, things would remain the same but there was now a fixed penalty when rules were breached. Despite the change in law, this week has shown that some retailers continue to operate business without using masks or wearing them sporadically, while police take no action.

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17-08-2020 PANORAMAdailyGIBRALTAR