Rio Citizens Who Insist on Refusing to Wear Masks Now Receive Fines

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Over the past few weeks, Rio de Janeiro citizens have been ignoring one of the most basic items, but which greatly helps to contain the spread of the coronavirus, the protective masks. Faced with this scenario, the Municipal Guard has been imposing fines on people failing to wear the item.

According to the entity’s balance, 1,820 fines have been recorded since June 5th. Last weekend alone over 80 of them were imposed on the beaches in the city’s southern and western zones. The fine is R$107 (US$2).

Since the start of inspections, in 18 of these cases, the offender had to be taken to the police station for contempt, disobedience or resistance, refusing to provide ID to the officer.

The decree making it compulsory to wear masks in public places in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro during the Covid-19 pandemic was published in the Municipal Gazette on April 18th.

On Sunday, July 19th, the State of Rio de Janeiro recorded 12,114 deaths from Covid-19 and counted 138,524 confirmed cases of the disease.