Georgia plans to fine citizens for not wearing face masks in public places
The Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia Archil Talakvadze says the amount of the fine should be rational and fulfill two criteria: it should have a preventive effect and not cause a citizen’s standing to seriously deteriorate. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
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Georgia plans to fine citizens for not wearing face masks in public places the amount of which is still subject to discussion as of now.
Lawmakers have proposed the amount of the fine not be more than one-tenth of the average monthly salary of an individual, while for private companies and legal entities it might be the whole amount of a monthly salary.
The average gross monthly salary was 1,204 GEL ($391.3/€350.3) in Georgia in 2019 (which is 963 GEL, or $312.9/€280.2 in net), says data from the National Statistics Office of Georgia. Based on the data, the fine for not wearing a face mask should not be more than 100 GEL ($32.5/€29).
The Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia Archil Talakvadze says the amount of the fine should be rational and fulfill two criteria: it should have a preventive effect and not cause a citizen’s standing to seriously deteriorate.
Fines imposed for violating the restrictions implemented by Georgia for the prevention of the spread of the coronavirus exceeds the income ratio imposed by Western European, Scandinavian and other developed countries and are disproportionately high relative to the income of the Georgian population, says the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information( IDFI) in its report ‘Measures against Covid-19 - International Practice.’
The police have fined 5,639 citizens for violating state of emergency regulations as a result of which 17,025,000 GEL ($5,313,007/€4,893,648) has been accumulated since March 31.
The Interior Ministry calls on everyone to follow the regulations of the state of emergency, otherwise individuals will face a fine of 3,000 GEL, while legal entities will face a fine of 15,000 GEL; repeat offence is punishable by three years in prison.
The Georgian Interior Ministry has registered 421 new violations of the state of emergency regulations and curfew during the last 24 hours throughout the country.
Individuals will be fined 20 GEL (about $6.6/€5.8) for not wearing face masks in closed public areas, public transport and taxis starting today.