Tamil Nadu Makes Face Masks Mandatory Again; Violators To Be Fined ₹500

Mumbai: The Tamil Nadu government on Friday issued an order to make face masks at public places mandatory again. According to the order issued by the state Health Department, a fine of ₹500 will be imposed on violators.

The order comes as Tamil Nadu on April 21 reported 39 new COVID-19 cases, pushing the caseload to 34,53,390. The death toll in the southern state stood at 38,025 as no patient had died of the deadly virus.

As the state is witnessing an increasing trend, the Tamil Nadu administration asked the health department to increase the testing of samples to around 25,000 a day.

Chennai has been reporting less than 20 cases in the past few days, accounting for most of the new infections with 21 cases on Thursday.

Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan urged the people of Tamil Nadu not to give up their defence and be lax in following proper COVID-19 treatment.

“It has been decided to increase the total number of samples that were tested by the health department per day. It was 16,000 (16,583) yesterday, today it will be 18,000 (18,825).. we have directed department authorities to increase the total number of samples collected per day to 25,000”, he said.

In view of the spike in COVID-19 cases in some parts of the country, the Punjab government has advised people to wear masks again in public places including in buses, trains, aircraft, taxis cinema halls, shopping malls, departmental stores, classrooms, office and indoor gatherings.

The Haryana government has also ordered making the wearing of face masks mandatory in four districts including Gurugram, Faridabad, Sonipat and Jhajjar.

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