Fourth wave threat: Punjab makes masks mandatory in as Covid cases soar

In view of rising Covid-19 cases, the Punjab government on Thursday made the wearing of masks in public places mandatory, ANI reported.

As per the order, authorities have been directed to make sure that people specifically wear masks in closed and crowded spaces like public transport, Cinema halls, shopping malls, schools, offices and other indoor gatherings.

Punjab follows Delhi, the National Capital Region (NCR), and some neighbouring states who have once again made the mask mandatory in public places in many of their districts due to the rise in virus cases.

Amid the fear of the fourth wave of Covid-19, the governments of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana on Monday decided to bring back the mask mandates in some of their districts.

Uttar Pradesh

The Uttar Pradesh government made it compulsory for people to wear a face mask in public places in the capital Lucknow and six NCR districts amid a rise in Covid cases in some adjoining states, an official said.

Haryana

The Haryana government also made the wearing of a face mask mandatory in four districts, including Gurugram as India saw a rising Covid trend.

Meanwhile, India Thursday recorded 2,380 new coronavirus infections taking the total tally of new Covid-19 cases to 4,30,49,974.

The death toll climbed to 5,22,062 with 56 fresh fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated. The active cases comprise 0.03 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate remained at 98.76 per cent, the ministry said.