Covid-19: Punjab issues advisory mandating face masks in public

Ludhiana: The Punjab state government issued a circular on Thursday mandating the wearing of facemasks in public-crowded places. Due to a recent rise in Covid-19 cases, Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh had issued similar advisories, The Indian Express reported.

The advisory in Punjab, issued by principal secretary Anurag Verma, said that masks should be worn in places including public transport (buses, trains, aircraft, taxis), cinema halls, shopping malls, departmental stores, classrooms, office rooms, indoor gatherings etc.

Delhi had made face masks mandatory in public places. The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) has once again imposed a fine of Rs 500 for not wearing the same. On Monday, the Uttar Pradesh government announced new guidelines to resist the virus. It has made wearing masks compulsory in the five districts, Gautam Budh Nagar, Ghaziabad, Hapur, Meerut, Bulandshahr, Baghpat, and Lucknow, the state capital. On the same day, along with UP, Haryana made masks mandatory in its four districts of Gurgaon, Faridabad, Sonepat and Jhajjar. The Union Territory of Chandigarh also directed people to wear masks in crowded places.

On Wednesday, Punjab registered 30 fresh Covid-19 cases. India recorded 2,380 cases and 56 deaths in the 24 hours till 8 am on Thursday.

India's total tally of COVID-19 cases is now at 4,30,49,974, while the active cases stand at 13,433. The death toll climbed to 5,22,062 with fresh fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated.

The active cases comprise 0.03 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate remained at 98.76 per cent, the ministry said. An increase of 1,093 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in 24 hours. The daily positivity rate was recorded as 0.53 per cent and the weekly positivity rate as 0.43 per cent, according to the Union Health Ministry.