After Delhi and Haryana, Punjab makes face masks mandatory in crowded places amid rise in Covid-19 cases

Due to a rise in Covid-19 cases in other states and Union territories, the Punjab government Thursday issued an advisory making the wearing of face masks mandatory again in crowded places. Punjab's advisory follows similar ones issued by Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh this week amid an uptick in Covid-19 cases.

The advisory issued by principal secretary Anurag Verma said that the wearing of masks should be especially ensured in public transport (buses, trains, aircraft, taxis), cinema halls, shopping malls, departmental stores, classrooms, office rooms, indoor gatherings and so on.

Earlier, Delhi had made masks mandatory again in public places in the national capital with the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) reimposing a fine of Rs 500 for mask violation.

The Uttar Pradesh government Monday issued fresh guidelines making masks compulsory again in five districts of the National Capital Region (NCR) Gautam Budh Nagar, Ghaziabad, Hapur, Meerut, Bulandshahr, and Baghpat as well as capital Lucknow.

Haryana also on Monday made masks mandatory in four districts  Gurgaon, Faridabad, Sonepat and Jhajjar.

The Chandigarh Union territory administration has also asked people to wear masks in crowded places.

Punjab on Wednesday had reported 30 fresh Covid-19 cases while India reported 2,380 cases and 56 deaths in the 24 hours ending 8 am Thursday. Active cases in the country are above 13,000 now.