Austria to make basic face masks compulsory in supermarkets

FILE PHOTO: Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz attends a news conference in Vienna, Austria, March 26, 2020. Georg Hochmuth/Pool via REUTERS

VIENNA (Reuters) - Austria will require the public to wear basic face masks in supermarkets, where they will be handed out probably from Wednesday in a bid to slow the spread of the coronavirus, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said on Monday.

"As of the moment these masks are handed out in front of supermarkets it will be compulsory to wear them in supermarkets," Kurz said, adding that the aim in the medium term was for people to wear them in public more generally as well. The so-called MNS masks are below medical grade, he said.