Covid-19, EU – Baltic States, Latvia, Legislation, Society

Toms Sadovskis, a representative of the Riga Municipal Police, explained to LETA that no special raids were planned to control the wearing of face masks, but the police will pay attention to the mandatory use of face masks while on patrol, as well as respond to calls if they are received.

"The police will assess each case individually, not punish everyone in turn. This will include both the nature of the offense - time, place and other objective circumstances - and subjective circumstances - the offender's attitude towards what has been done. If the violation is deliberate, fines will certainly be issued,'' said Sadovskis.

As reported, Saeima on Thursday approved in the final reading amendments to the Law on the Management of the Spread of COVID-19 Infection, introducing fines for a failure to wear mouth and nose coverings in public places as required by law.

Under the new provision, effective as of November 20, people who fail to wear face masks in public places can receive a warning or be fined with EUR 10 to 50.