Face masks made mandatory in civic-run Mumbai hospitals

Mumbai, New Delhi: In all civic-run hospitals in Mumbai, face masks have been made mandatory for employees, patients and visitors. The rule was imposed in view of the rise in Covid-19 cases, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said on Monday, reports PTI.

In a release, BMC said that the step was taken as a safety measure post a coronavirus meeting conducted by the municipal commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal. However, the release did not sp[ecitfy when mandatory face masks would be effective.

BMC has requested citizens above 60 years to wear face masks as a precautionary measure though it is not mandatory for them. It also said that it would release guidelines on home isolation of Covid-19 patients.

Meanwhile, India registered 5,880 fresh Covid-19 cases and 14 deaths in 24 hours as of Monday 8 am, updated by the Union Health Ministry. When the active case pool reached 35,199, the cumulative death toll reached 5,30,979, The Indian Express reported.

The death cases were reported from Delhi and Himachal Pradesh (four each), Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan (one death each) when Kerala reconciled two.

The daily positivity rate in the country reached 6.91 per cent, while the weekly rate was 3.67 per cent. When the pandemic recovery rate stood at 98.73 per cent, active cases contributed to 0.08 per cent of total infections. The case fatality rate was 1.19 per cent.

The cumulative case count of India reached 4,47,62,496 on Monday.

India has completed administering 220.66 core doses of Covdi19 vaccine under the nationwide vaccination drive, TIE reported.