Haryana mandates use of face masks in 4 districts as Covid-19 cases rise

Chandigarh: The Haryana government has made the wearing of a face mask mandatory in four districts falling in view of rising Covid-19 cases. Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij said in view of the rise in Covid cases over the past a few days in Gurugram, the wearing of a mask has been made compulsory there and in three other districts of Faridabad, Sonipat and Jhajjar.

Of 234 cases reported in Haryana on Monday, 198 surfaced in Gurugram alone while 21 were from Faridabad, he said. "But in more than half of the districts, cases are nil or very less," Vij told reporters here.

Vij said a team led by Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Rajeev Arora has been asked to study why cases are increasing in Gurugram. Its report is yet to come, he said.

"However, as a precautionary measure in the districts which lie close to the national capital, we have made the wearing of a mask compulsory," he said.

The wearing of masks will be mandatory with immediate effect. Those not wearing a mask will be fined, he said. "We are studying which areas in Gurugram are seeing a surge," said Vij while replying to a question.

To another question, he said some samples have been sent to Rohtak to see which variant is in circulation in Gurugram. He said the Health Department is fully prepared to tackle any situation. "We are ready, our staff is ready, we have adequate beds, equipment, oxygen," he said.

The decision by the Haryana government has come on the day Uttar Pradesh made it compulsory for people to wear a face mask in public places in Lucknow and six NCR districts.

The districts where the wearing of a mask has been made mandatory by the UP government are Gautam Buddh Nagar, Ghaziabad, Hapur, Meerut, Bulandshahr and Baghpat.