Covid Surge: Maharashtra Govt Makes Wearing of Masks Mandatory At Public Places

Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Dr Pradeep Vyas issued an order in this regard in a letter to all the district authorities.

Representational Image (Photo: Getty Images)

New Delhi: In view of the increasing cases of Covid-19 in Maharashtra, the state government has issued an order making it mandatory to wear masks in buses, trains, schools, colleges, cinema halls and auditoriums.

Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Dr Pradeep Vyas issued an order in this regard in a letter to all the district authorities.

“Mask in closed public spaces like trains, buses, cinemas, auditoriums, offices, hospitals, colleges, schools is a must,” he said in his order.

The Additional Chief Secretary (Health) in a letter to the collectors, municipal corporations and chief executive officers said all districts should ensure the proportion of RT-PCR tests was at least 60 percent.

“People should be advised to wear masks in closed public spaces like trains, buses, cinemas, auditoriums, offices, hospitals, colleges and schools,” he said.

This comes as over 1,000 cases were recorded in Maharashtra for the third day on Friday.

Earlier on Friday, the state health department asked the district and civic authorities to ramp up coronavirus testing.

The development took place as the numbers of samples being examined had fallen while the Covid cases were rising.

The Additional Chief Secretary (Health) also asked the officials to carry out periodic analysis of new cases with respect to time, place and person so that a localised action plan can be carved out.

The letter issued by him stated that an appropriate number of samples need to be referred for genomic sequencing to identified INSACOG laboratory.

The letter said vaccination coverage needed to be increased.

The letter added that precaution dose should be promoted and expedited, while Covid vaccination in the 12 to 18 age group needs to improve.