These days, going out without wearing a face mask is considered poor form – and, in some places, an offense. But the mayor of an Italian town says fines should be slapped on those wearing a mask in an “inappropriate” situation.
Vittorio Sgarbi, the mayor of Sutri, is confident his unorthodox initiative will help stem the spread of “pandemic-related hysteria,” as he put it, according to the TASS news agency.
[Apparently Mayor Sgarbi understands that forced mask-wearing is state-imposed terrorism and tends to create hysteria which is detrimental to people’s health. I agree. In this case the Italian public appears to be so brainwashed they don’t realize that their mayor is actually trying to help them. – ed.]
Sgarbi, who is also a renowned art historian, cultural commentator, and television personality, told TASS he had issued a decree – yet to be approved by the Italian government – calling for imposition of a fine for wearing a mask in a situation when it’s not needed.
Sgarbi made it clear that anyone breaking his ban would not incur a harsh penalty, but that people should wear a mask only when the occasion requires. “Wearing a mask at dinner is absurd,” he clarified.
The mayor is no stranger to going against the mainstream. Ahead of the pandemic, he reportedly dismissed coronavirus as “a flu” and ridiculed those raising concerns about the looming crisis.
In mid-August, Italy mandated the wearing of masks from 6pm until 6am in all spaces open to the public where maintaining social distance is impossible. Two weeks ago, police handed out the first penalty for breach of the rule, fining a 29-year-old maskless man who argued that “Covid doesn’t exist.”
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