A young man wearing a gas mask loads the potting soil he has bought into his car in front of a hardware store in Kaufbeuren, Germany, Monday, April 27, 2020. From today face masks are mandatory in parts of Germany for shopping and on public transport due to the coronavirus outbreak. (Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/dpa via AP)

Germans will now have to pay a hefty fine of up to 10,000 Euros for not wearing face masks on public transport, long-distance trains and in shops, reported The Guardian. As per the new rule called Maskenpflicht (maskduty), fines between Euro 25 to Euro 10,000 can be imposed on those who fail to wear a mask in public. The new rule was introduced in Germany’s 15 of the 16 states, with the sole exception of Schleswig-Holstein, which will most likely implement the legislation this Wednesday, reported The Guardian.

The fine rates, however, differ across the country, with some states like Bradenburg and Berlin saying they won’t levy fines but would rather let people show mutual respect to each other by wearing a mask. The remaining states have said they would give their citizens a few days time to get to know the new rule before implementing the legislation.

According to The Guardian, shopkeepers will bear the heftiest of fines if their staffers are caught without face masks. Some states also have the provision of incremental fines for repeat offenders.

Following the new legislation, some state authorities have insisted that face masks don’t have to be medically-approved, with some saying that cloth or scarf over mouth is enough, The Guardian reported.

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As of Tuesday, Germany has recorded 158,758 positive coronavirus cases and 6,126 deaths, as per Johns Hopkins University.