Zizi Sparks: Following Covid 19 rules everyone's responsibility

Passengers wearing face masks disembarking from a commuter train at Wellington. Photo / File

COMMENT

Everywhere I look online there are advertisements for masks.

There are friends on Facebook making masks at home and selling them. It's impossible to miss.

On Monday, mask-wearing became compulsory on buses, trains, ferries and on all flights at alert level 2 and above around New Zealand in order to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

Yet when reporters visited bus stops in Rotorua and Tauranga this week, not all Bay of Plenty passengers had got the message.

"How could they not know?" Was the chorus in the office. "Have they been living under a rock?"

I understand how you may not know about the requirement. It would have been easy to switch off when it came to the Prime Minister's Covid-19 announcements, thinking they were relevant to Auckland and not us in the regions.

But keeping up with and following Covid-19 rules is everyone's responsibility.

Around the globe, mask policies range. Many African nations have blanket mask mandates in place as do most Asian nations. The list of places where masks are needed in some or all places is extensive.

In Qatar not wearing a mask can lead to three years' imprisonment or a fine of NZ$84,000. Violators in Ghana face up to a decade in jail.

The gravity of the punishment shows how seriously other countries are taking the use of masks to stop the spread of germs. We should too.

Wearing a mask means you won't spread whatever germs you may have to others, and you are more protected from what's out there.

We followed the rules when told to stay home in our bubbles, we've followed the contact tracing rules. Now it's time to follow the mask rules.

It's up to all of us to keep up to date with what is going on and the requirements we need to follow - whether it be mask wearing, social distancing or staying home.

If we don't the consequences could be dire.