CNA Staff, 06 October, 2020 / 2:00 pm (ACI Africa).
Face coverings must be worn outdoors within the territory of Vatican City State to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, a Vatican official announced Tuesday.
In a Oct. 6 letter to Vatican department heads, Bishop Fernando Vérgez, Secretary General of the Governorate of Vatican City State, said that masks should be worn “in the open air and in all workplaces where distance cannot always be guaranteed.”
Vérgez added that the new rules applied also to extraterritorial properties in Rome which are located outside Vatican City.
“In all environments this standard must be constantly respected,” he wrote, strongly recommending that all other measures to restrict the virus also be observed.
The move follows the introduction of a new ordinance in the Lazio region, which includes Rome, making face coverings mandatory outdoors from Oct. 3, with fines of almost $500 for those who fail to comply. The measure applies 24 hours a day, with exceptions for children under the age of six, people with disabilities, and those engaged in exercise.
