Bolivians told no anti-flu masks to avoid heists

September 16, 2009 07:22:24 PM

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Bolivian banks have banned customers from wearing masks on their premises, in a bid to curb an epidemic of robberies by people taking advantage of swine flu fears to hide their faces.

"We have decided that only staff can wear masks, while clients can no longer enter with masks," Hoggier Hurtado, president of the federation of savings banks in the central city of Santa Cruz, told El Dia newspaper.

The decision came after a bank heist in broad daylight on Thursday at the Family Cooperative by five people wearing masks commonly used in Bolivia to protect against the A(H1N1) virus.

Santa Cruz police have backed the decision and police chief Johnny Vargas said thieves are taking advantage of the precautionary measures advocated by health authorities against the pandemic to commit their crimes.

"Unfortunately, there are many people who commit crimes by using masks, which prevents us from identifying their faces despite the security cameras," Vargas said.

Santa Cruz, located in the wealthiest region of the South American country, is the epicenter of the A(H1N1) outbreak in Bolivia, accounting for 70 percent of the 1,500 confirmed cases of infection.

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