The Haryana and Uttar Pradesh (UP) governments on Monday made mask-wearing mandatory in public places in all National Capital Region (NCR) districts, amid an uptick in Covid-19 cases in Delhi and its adjoining cities.
While residents in Haryana will be fined ₹500, the UP governments order did not specify a penalty amount.
Both states also said that all positive samples would be sent for genome sequencing, in a bid to understand the predominant variant circulating in the region.
Haryana health minister Anil Vij on Monday, said, “Keeping in mind the rise in Covid-19 cases, masks have been made mandatory in four districts of Haryana —Gurugram, Faridabad, Sonepat and Jhajjar. Those who don’t wear a mask will have to pay a fine.”
Gurugram has contributed to a lion’s share of cases from Haryana in recent days. The state on Monday reported 234 cases, 198 of which came from Gurugram. Of the remaining, 21 were from Faridabad, seven from Sonepat, three from Ambala and one each from Karnal, Rohtak, Jind, Rewari and Fatehabad.
Gurugram reported 946 cases between April 11 and 17, at an average of around 135 a day, up from 427 cases in the week before that, at an average of 61.
{{/usCountry}}Gurugram reported 946 cases between April 11 and 17, at an average of around 135 a day, up from 427 cases in the week before that, at an average of 61.
{{/usCountry}}“We are fully prepared to deal with the situation and our staff is ready with equipment and beds. Oxygen is also adequately available. But people need to be alert on their own. Residents must wear masks, use sanitisers and wash their hands regularly,” said the health minister.
Haryana withdrew the masks rule on April 2 this year, in the wake of a fall in Covid-19 cases.
UP made masks optional a day before that, as it withheld the extension of the state’s Epidemic Diseases Control Act, which had been in place in the state since May 2020.
Uttar Pradesh also made mask-wearing mandatory in its capital, Lucknow, apart from the NCR districts. The state government’s Twitter handle, in a statement attributed to chief minister Yogi Adityanath tweeted, “Masks should be made mandatory in public places in NCR’s Gautam Budh Nagar, Ghaziabad, Hapur, Meerut, Bulandshahr, Baghpat as well Lucknow. Unvaccinated people in these districts should be identified and vaccinated. People with symptoms should be tested”
UP chief secretary Durga Shankar Mishra later issued on order making masks mandatory in public places, private and government offices, courts and schools. The order however does not mention the fine.
“We are seeking more directions in this regard as the order does not mention anything about the fine to be levied in case anyone is found without mask,” said Vipin Kumar, additional district magistrate (city), Ghaziabad.
Ghaziabad as of Monday evening had 129 active cases, which included 20 fresh infections logged on Monday. In the week ending April 18, 0.55% of all tests in the district returned positive results.
“The directions will be implemented at the earliest and we are waiting for the orders. Since the cases declines considerably in the month of March, the focus on wearing of masking also fell by the wayside,” said Dr Rakesh Gupta, district surveillance officer of Ghaziabad.