Police, retail employees clash with Victorians refusing to wear face masks - The Age

He said that although police do have the power to issue $200 fines, “it should never ever come to that".

“They are trying to be as fair as they possibly can be,” he said, “but if you’re just making a selfish choice based on your belief, your personal belief, quoting something you’ve read on some website, it's not about human rights,” he said.

People refusing to wear masks in public have clashed with Victoria Police and Bunnings employees as the government doubles down on the mandatory mask requirement for Melburnians. Credit:The Age

“There are 10 families that are going to be burying someone in the next few days – wear a mask.”

Victoria Police released a statement on Sunday reaffirming their intention to fine those with “blatant” disregard for quarantine rules.

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“Whilst police will use discretion in the first seven days since the [Chief Health Officer's] direction was issued, we will not hesitate to issue fines to people who are obviously and blatantly showing a disregard for community safety by failing to wear a mask,” a statement said.

“Police are working incredibly hard to keep the community safe and this type of behaviour is unacceptable and unnecessary.”

Police issued a total of 126 fines to individuals for breaching the CHO directions. Seventeen of these infringements were issued at checkpoints.

A total of 165,412 spot checks have been conducted since March 21, with 14,908 on major arterial roads and 1093 spot checks in the 24 hours to midday Sunday.

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Nick Coatsworth said he wasn’t convinced by the argument that wearing a mask impinged on people’s civil rights.

“The idea it [wearing a mask] is an imposition on someone’s freedom or individual rights, I’m not sure I can be convinced of that," Dr Coatsworth said.

“That sort of behaviour has to stop. I acknowledge wearing a mask can be difficult and it takes some time to get used to but, in all seriousness, it is just having a mask on.”

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https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiigFodHRwczovL3d3dy50aGVhZ2UuY29tLmF1L25hdGlvbmFsL3ZpY3RvcmlhL3BvbGljZS1yZXRhaWwtZW1wbG95ZWVzLWNsYXNoLXdpdGgtdmljdG9yaWFucy1yZWZ1c2luZy10by13ZWFyLWZhY2UtbWFza3MtMjAyMDA3MjYtcDU1Zm1pLmh0bWzSAYoBaHR0cHM6Ly9hbXAudGhlYWdlLmNvbS5hdS9uYXRpb25hbC92aWN0b3JpYS9wb2xpY2UtcmV0YWlsLWVtcGxveWVlcy1jbGFzaC13aXRoLXZpY3RvcmlhbnMtcmVmdXNpbmctdG8td2Vhci1mYWNlLW1hc2tzLTIwMjAwNzI2LXA1NWZtaS5odG1s?oc=5

2020-07-26 08:37:00Z
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