Covid Rules Return: Rs 500 Penalty For Not Wearing Masks In This State; Mask Becomes Mandatory

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar announced that wearing masks will be made mandatory in select districts.

Violators will have to cough up a fine of Rs 500.

Affected Districts

He said that four district administrations — Gurugram, Faridabad, Sonipat and Jhajjar — have been asked to keep a close watch on the COVID-19 situation.

All the four districts are near New Delhi and fall in the national capital region (NCR).

Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij said that they had conducted a survey which found that only Gurgaon has reported maximum cases and a few have been detected in Faridabad.

Hence, the decision to make masks mandatory in the four districts.

Testing Ramped Up

Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Rajeev Arora said that with this fresh surge in cases, testing will once again be ramped up. 

They will start with 3,000 tests in Gurgaon and 2,000 in Faridabad on a daily basis.

The testing in other districts will also be increased depending on the situation there.

Arora spoke about the slow pace of the surge in cases. 

Slow Surge And Its Reasons

He said that the primary reason for this is that the majority of the population has developed natural immunity which comes after having been infected before.

Also contributing to this is the widespread vaccination coverage which also boosts immunity.

However, the rise in cases is still a matter of concern but the authorities are taking all necessary steps to prevent it from spreading.

He emphasized that the current wave of cases is of the Omicron variant only, and not any other variant such as the XE.

Delhi Brings Back Mask Mandate

Earlier this week, the Delhi government also imposed a mask mandate in public places and a fine of Rs 500 in case of a violation.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA).

They decided to keep schools open and come up with separate Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for them.

Lt Governor Anil Baijal shared details of the DDMA meeting and said that it was decided then that wearing of masks will be made mandatory in public places.

Delhi Schools

Coming to schools, SOPs for schools must be strictly enforced by the school management concerned.

In case of non-compliance or violation of SOPs, an appropriate penalty will be imposed to deter others from flouting rules.

Authorities have been ordered to keep a close eye on social gatherings and ramp up testing in the national capital.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is said to be closely monitoring the situation.

Officials have been instructed to ensure implementation of measures taken to contain the contagion and start making preparations for the treatment of COVID patients.