As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 13th of July, 2020, Minister Bozinovic, the head of the National Civil Protection Directorate, explained how whether people are wearing protective masks indoors, which is mandatory in stores from today onward, will be monitored and controlled.
Minister Bozinovic said that we are facing a new dynamic of the spread of the new coronavirus on a global level. Here in Croatia, as he said, local measures will be applied and local hotspots will be extinguished, but there will also be measures that will be applied at the national level, such as the introduction of wearing masks in restaurants, shops and when using public transport.
“In autumn, we could face more proliferation and more severe symptoms, so now we need to acquire the habits we will need for when autumn comes,” he said, noting that this is why they have resumed press conferences, which also serve as a means of educating the general public.
“Our basic approach is to inform the public. There’s not much point in issuing penalties, but we’ll also have certain sanctions if a measure is not accepted. Hopefully that won’t happen. Large centres have security guards where it is not a problem to just refuse entry to a person who isn’t wearing a mask, in small shops, the staff aren’t allowed to serve someone if they aren’t wearing a mask. There aren’t so many police or inspections that they can control everything… We’d like to appeal to everyone to call 112 or the police if there needs to be an intervention,” he said.
He stated again clearly that if faced with issues, shop employees and those working for hospitality facilities are free to call the police (112) to come and deal with difficult people.
Minister Bozinovic also stated that everyone’s goal is to accept the ”new normal” for what it is at the moment and that wearing masks indoors should simply become a practice. “They’ve been shown to be effective,” he added. From day to day, he said, they will repeat everything they consider important to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus. He added that they’re continuing to make sure that the tourist season is as good and safe as possible under these unprecedented circumstances.
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