Almost all of Germany’s 83 million population will be required to wear face coverings in public spaces as of Monday, according to announcements on federal state websites.
Germany is a decentralized country so every state has its own set of rules.
Here’s a breakdown of when and where you need to wear a mask:
- The capital Berlin is the most lax, with masks only required when riding public transport.
- All other states require citizens to cover their mouths and noses in stores and on public transport.
- Germany’s largest state, North Rhine-Westphalia, requires citizens to cover their mouth and nose when visiting doctors and when they receive handy workers in their homes.
- In the northernmost state of Schleswig-Holstein the law requiring masks does not go into effect until Wednesday.
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government urgently recommended citizens to wear masks in public when it loosened some of the restrictions placed on public life to combat the coronavirus pandemic a week ago.
CNN