The most populous German state is tightening the corona protection rules in local public transport. Passengers on buses, S-Bahn trains or trams in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) who do not wear respiratory protection will have to pay a fine of 150 euros in future.
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According to official reports, there will no longer be any warnings. Instead, an immediate fine of this amount will be payable on the first violation of the mask requirement, announced State Transport Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU) in Düsseldorf’s “Rheinische Post” on Wednesday. Anyone caught without mouth-nose protection “has to get out at the next stop and pay.”
Until now, fines have only been imposed in NRW if passengers refuse to put on their masks despite being asked to do so. In the future there will be “no longer a long discussion with muffle masks,” warned Wüst.
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Only at the beginning of the week did NRW have all secondary and vocational schools a mask requirement was introduced at school and in class. At primary schools, grades 1 to 4 in the school building and on the premises have to wear mouth-nose protection – but not if the pupils sit in their fixed places in the classroom. This was announced by the school ministry.
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Strict rules are to be reviewed again at the end of August
With the start of school on August 12, wearing a mouth-and-nose cover is compulsory at all secondary and vocational NRW schools on the school premises, and in principle also in the classroom.
Insofar as teachers cannot ensure the recommended minimum distance of 1.5 meters, the obligation to cover the mouth and nose also applies to them. The regulation initially runs until August 31. Then it should be decided whether it should be extended. Employees of schools and day care centers in North Rhine-Westphalia can voluntarily get tested for the corona virus every 14 days until the autumn holidays.
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