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Coronavirus in Poland. A call for clarification of the provisions concerning the order to cover the mouth and nose

Doctors remind you to wear masks and at least partially protect yourself against the coronavirus. Only that some comply with the restrictions, while others do not – claiming that they have the right to do so, because the regulations are defective. Therefore, they often carry their interpretation in their pockets. The Polish Council of Shopping Centers calls for clarification of the regulations so that no one has any doubts as to what is the duty of each of us. Material of the magazine “Polska i Świat”.

Do you have to wear masks or not? You have to serve people without masks, can you not do it? – this is what sellers and their customers are increasingly arguing about. – We appealed to the Ministry of Health and the government with a request to clarify the provisions – says the director general of the Polish Council of Shopping Centers, Radosław Knap.

The regulations that are in force now are not precise and offer a lot of room for interpretation. It is about the provisions from the last ordinance of the Council of Ministers from the beginning of August, which set out restrictions, orders and bans during the epidemic. According to them, in shops it is necessary to cover the mouth and nose – and we can choose whether we will use a mask, a helmet or a piece of clothing for this.

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In Poland, it is obligatory to cover the mouth and nose, among others, in shopsTVN24

– We receive disturbing signals from various places, where clients bring special legal statements, on the basis of which they believe that they do not need to put on masks or helmets – points out Radosław Knap. Because if the basis for the regulation is an act in which there is a provision on “the obligation to use preventive measures by sick and suspected people”, there are those who see there a door to bypassing the regulations.

– There are also voices that this regulation is an act of too low rank as regards the requirement to restrict the freedom of movement by wearing something on the face – emphasizes Sławomir Trojanowski, legal advisor.

The office of the Ombudsman also sees a problem here, although it does not question the validity of the very order to cover the nose and mouth. “The conflicts are caused, on the one hand, by a faulty way of introducing the obligation to cover the face and nose, and on the other hand, by imprecision and frequent changes to the regulations” – points out the Ombudsman for Citizens’ Law.

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Store owners want clarified rules for covering the mouth and noseTVN24

The defective way is to consist in the fact that the current provisions are not enshrined in the relevant act. The Ministry of Health does not agree with this position. – The provisions of the ordinance are anchored in the act. This is the act of December 2008 on the prevention and combating of infectious diseases – explains the spokesman of the Ministry of Health Wojciech Andrusiewicz.

Only that this is the aforementioned act that treats everyone as a potentially sick person. – The point is that all rights and obligations of both store owners and sellers should be clearly defined so that they can consistently refer to the regulations – says Radosław Knap.

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In the opinion of the Ombudsman, the method of introducing the obligation to cover the face and nose is flawedTVN24

“Health protection is a justified reason for refusal to sell”

Representatives of the Polish Council of Shopping Centers would also like these more precise regulations to protect sellers who will not serve customers without masks or helmets. And that it will not end up with a fine, as in the case of a saleswoman from Suwałki. Her case was dealt with by the court after the police request. According to the Ministry of Health, it was a single case. Wojciech Andrusiewicz believes that “protecting the health of all store users is a justified reason for refusing to sell products to a person who does not cover his mouth and nose”.

The Polish police have no problems with the current shape of the regulations, and they often intervene on the basis of them. For not covering your mouth and nose in shops, you can get an instruction or a fine of PLN 500. – It is very good that there is an act that has allowed us to adjust our actions in the current situation – indicates the spokesman of the Police Commander in Chief, Insp. Mariusz Ciarka.

Lawyers point out that the solution could be embedding such provisions in the act on natural disaster. There it mentions “the obligation to apply preventive measures necessary to combat infectious diseases”.

photo-source">Main photo source: TVN24

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