Nude sunbathers are ordered to cover up (their mouths): Czech police issue warnings and instruct people to put on coronavirus face masks ‘even when wearing nothing else’
- Nudists on Czech beaches were reprimanded for not wearing face masks
- Nude sunbathing is allowed in area but bathers must wear the protective masks
- Czech Republic is one of the few countries to mandate face masks in public
Nudists who sunbathed without protective face masks in the Czech Republic have been reprimanded by police and warned that clothes may be optional but masks are not.
More than a hundred people, including nudists, descended on the Czech spa town of Lázně Bohdaneč to enjoy the good weather.
But with the Czech government insisting that face masks be worn at all times in public, police soon arrived to enforce the rules.
‘Unfortunately, the sunbathing citizens were in one place in larger numbers and some did not even have a mask,’ police spokeswoman Markéta Janovská told local media.
More than a hundred people, including nudists, descended on the Czech spa town of Lázně Bohdaneč to enjoy the good weather
‘Citizens can be without clothes in places designated for this purpose, but they must have their mouths covered and must observe the numbers in which they can go into nature.’
Officers checked on 150 people enjoying the town’s lakes and found roughly half without the required protection.
Nude sunbathing is allowed in the area, but emergency rules have banned gatherings of more than two people and require the wearing of face masks in public.
All those warned by police subsequently put on masks and no fines were issued.
‘We understand that many people do not have a garden and want to ventilate in the countryside,’ Janovská added. ‘But we all want one thing in common: fully respecting government regulations, so that the measures taken can be gradually released.’
Officers checked on 150 people enjoying the town’s lakes and found roughly half without the required protection
The Czech Republic and Slovakia are two of only a few countries to mandate that face masks must be worn in public, following the example of South Korea. However, the two governments have not provided masks to the public, leaving many to sew their own.
The Czech Republic has had 4,828 confirmed cases of coronavirus with 127 recoveries and 80 deaths. Its first cases were confirmed on March 1 and on March 12 the government declared a state of emergency.
Schools had already been suspended and gatherings of more than 100 people banned on March 10. The ban on gatherings of more than two people was enacted on March 23.