Pretoria - While it is required by law to wear a face-covering in public during the current lockdown, you cannot be held criminally liable if you don’t.
Rather, the person who can be held criminally liable is the owner or manager of an establishment you visit, such as on office, school or shop, and the taxi or other public transport you travel in.
There has been much confusion in recent days over the latest amendments to enhanced level 3 regulations regarding the wearing of masks.
In a media briefing, Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma said it was necessary to achieve compliance with the wearing of masks as one of the most effective means of preventing the spread of Covid-19.
Then Minister of Justice Ronald Lamola said service providers and store owners could be held criminally liable for failure to enforce compliance.
Three top lawyers have now helped clear up confusion, with Andre Visser of Adams & Adams explaining that the amended lockdown regulations, published on July 12, confirm that it is mandatory to wear an appropriate item covering both nose and mouth when out in public.
The only exception allowed is during vigorous exercise, provided the person maintains a distance of at least 3m from any other person.
Visser said while the new regulations made the wearing of masks in public mandatory, they did not specifically state that the non-wearing constitutes a criminal offence.
“It, however, places an obligation on a driver or operator of any form of public transport, an owner or manager of a building, an employer, and a
school principal to ensure the wearing of masks in the space they have authority over.
“If such persons fail to take reasonable steps to ensure compliance with the wearing of masks, they will have committed an offence and are liable on conviction to a fine and/or to imprisonment not exceeding six months.”
Visser said Lamola’s warning did create some confusion as the new regulations do not allow for individuals to be criminalised for failure to wear a mask in public spaces.
“The stipulation that individuals must wear masks in public spaces is a rule without any criminal sanction attached,” he said.
Lawyer Ferdi Hartzenberg confirmed that the onus did not rest on individuals to wear a mask in public, although it was recommended.
He said the only people who could be prosecuted for someone not wearing a mask were those who operated a business that allowed access to the public.