From 1 December 2020 face masks must be work in all indoor public spaces and covered areas. This includes educational institutions, public transport and locations where contact-based professions are carried out, as well as shops, town halls and train stations. Make sure the mask covers your nose, mouth and chin.
Always stay 1.5 metres away from other people, even if you are wearing a face mask.
Wearing a face mask correctly
Make sure the mask covers your nose, mouth and chin. Only touch the mask with clean hands. Keep your mask on wherever it is mandatory to do so, even if there are no other people around.
Use face masks made for use by the general public. The use of transparent face shields instead of a face mask is not permitted.
Face masks mandatory from 1 December
As of 1 December 2020, everyone aged 13 and over must wear a face mask in settings in which they are mandatory.
Reason for making face masks mandatory
Making it mandatory to wear a face mask almost everywhere automatically makes the rules clearer and helps stop coronavirus spreading.
Settings in which face masks are mandatory
A face mask is mandatory in all indoor public spaces. This includes:
municipal offices
hospitals
shops and supermarkets
museums
petrol stations
theatres and other entertainment venues
restaurants.
No face masks required in primary schools
In primary schools and schools for special education, face masks do not need to be worn. Children in this age group have only a small risk of infection. There are clear rules about when staff or pupils need to stay at home, however.
Face masks required in secondary schools
Pupils and staff in secondary schools and schools for special secondary education must wear face masks outside of lessons. This requirement does not apply to pupils in special education who are unable to wear a mask due to a disability or health condition, or who become extremely distressed when wearing a mask.
Face masks required in secondary vocational education and higher education
From 1 December 2020, everyone in secondary vocational education and higher education must wear a mask outside of lessons and lectures. This rule applies in and around educational establishments and at other locations off-site where educational activities are held, such as workshops or examination locations.
Customers and service providers must wear face masks
In contact-based professions in the hair and beauty sector or professions involving physical contact, face masks are mandatory for both the service provider and the customer. Service providers can also make it part of their own policy that face masks must be worn.
Extra rules
Hairdressers and beauty therapists can draw up extra rules.
Face mask not required during treatments involving the face
A customer may remove their mask for treatment that involves contact with their face.
Face masks are mandatory on buses, trains, trams and metros. You are also advised to wear a face mask if you are travelling in a private vehicle with people you do not live with. If you are the only passenger in a taxi, you do not have to wear a face mask.
Face masks must be worn on coaches, because it is not always possible to stay 1.5 metres away from other people. Children aged 12 and under do not need to wear a face mask on coaches.
It is not possible to stay 1.5 metres away from others on an aircraft. This is why face masks must be worn. If you are unable to wear a face mask for medical reasons, you must provide a signed declaration from your doctor.
Removing your mask when seated indoors
You can remove your face mask indoors once you are seated in an assigned seat, such as in a theatre. When you leave your seat, you must put your mask back on. This does not apply to public transport; you must wear your mask at all times while travelling by train, bus, tram or metro.
Private buildings
Face masks are not mandatory in private buildings that are not freely accessible to the public. This includes buildings where people gather to practise a religion or belief, such as churches, mosques, temples and synagogues. Organisations and businesses can decide for themselves whether they wish to advise people to wear face masks on their premises. They can also choose to make face masks mandatory as part of their own policy.
Fines
If you do not wear a face mask in a place where you must wear one, you may be fined.
Face masks no substitute for social distancing
Wearing a face mask is never a substitute for not observing other measures to limit the spread of the virus. You must also always stay 1.5 metres away from others and avoid busy places.
Sometimes keeping your distance is not possible, however, such as on public transport or at the hairdresser. In such situations, face masks can help stop the virus spreading. Wearing a face mask mainly protects others around you. And if they wear a face mask, they're protecting you.
Face masks not harmful
The World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that face masks are not harmful. They do not cause a lack of oxygen or carbon dioxide poisoning. Oxygen and carbon dioxide can simply pass through the face mask.
Wearing a mask may sometimes be a little uncomfortable, so you should wear one that fits you well.
Exempted from wearing face masks
The following people are exempted from the statutory requirement to wear a face mask:
people who have a disability or health condition that makes them physically unable to wear or put on a face mask, such as an impairment affecting the facial area
people with a health condition that makes it more difficult to wear a mask, such as a respiratory disease
people who become extremely distressed when wearing a mask, such as people with severe intellectual disabilities or mental disorders (this exemption also extends to their carers)
people who are dependent on non-verbal communication, such as lip-reading (this exemption also extends to their carers).
The statutory requirement to wear a face mask does not apply to children aged 12 and under, since children do not spread coronavirus as much as adults. The risk of transmission increases as children get older and that is why the face mask requirement does apply to teenagers from the age of 13.
