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| - Poles begrudgingly strapped on face masks Thursday in line with new rules to cover up as the government plans to ease coronavirus lockdown restrictions ahead of May elections. All stores except supermarkets and pharmacies are shut in Poland until April 19 to control the coronavirus outbreak that has infected more than 7,900 and killed over 300. This week, the government rolled out new rules requiring anyone venturing out in public -- for now, people out for essential trips or key workers -- to wear masks. The edict was received with mixed reviews. "It's awful," postal worker Natalia told AFP, towing a large wheeled letter-bag behind her. "My glasses are fogging up and I can't see a thing. But you have to wear it," she added, declining to give her surname. A bank employee was equally unenthusiastic about having to sport the face covering. "It isn't comfortable but if it's necessary, we have no choice. We must abide by the rules," said bank employee Urszula. The World Health Organization (WHO) says asking the public to wear face masks is justified in areas where hand washing and physical distancing are difficult. But it also warns that masks alone cannot stop the coronavirus pandemic. But some Warsaw residents saw the new face mask rule as a chance to show off their sartorial swagger. "Don't you like my mask?", quipped a lady wearing a deftly crafted green and gold one as she waited in line at a Warsaw post office. "A seamstress friend made it for me." A nearby solider, Dariusz Szczypulski, agreed: "People will wear them as fashion statements." The rules were rolled out as Poland's right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) government prepares for a presidential election on May 10. The government has refused to delay the vote despite growing pressure from the public, opposition parties and medical experts over virus fears. Like several of it neighbours, Poland will ease virus restrictions in stages over the next few weeks. Forests and parks, except children's playgrounds, will re-open as of Monday for exercise only. Schools could start to reopen from April 26 along with the resumption of international flights and rail travel. As for the new mask rules, violators caught without masks can be fined up to several hundred euros. But one police officer in the sunny, windswept capital said they would not be too tought on offenders. "Probably we will limit ourselves to a verbal warning," he said, refusing to be named. dsi-via-mas/wai/jv
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