Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on Monday made wearing masks mandatory in public places in districts that are part of the National Capital Region amid a rise in coronavirus cases in Delhi.
Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij said that wearing masks was now compulsory in Gurugram, Faridabad, Sonipat and Jhajjar, reported ANI. These districts border the national Capital.
In Uttar Pradesh, wearing masks was made mandatory in Lucknow, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Ghaziabad, Hapur, Meerut, Bulandshahr and Baghpat districts. All these districts except Lucknow are part of the National Capital Region, reported PTI.
Delhi has seen a surge in Covid-19 cases, registering 501 infections on Sunday. The city had recorded 517 new coronavirus cases a day before that. While cases declined slightly on Monday, Delhi’s Covid-19 test positivity rate rose to 7.72% from Sunday’s 4.21%.
In the last 24 hours, Gautam Buddh Nagar recorded 65 new Covid-19 infections, a government spokesperson told PTI. While 20 fresh cases were reported in Ghaziabad, 10 infections were recorded in Lucknow.
The Uttar Pradesh government had removed the mandate of wearing masks in the state on April 1 as coronavirus cases had plunged, reported The Indian Express.
Earlier on Sunday, Lucknow District Magistrate Abhishek Prakash had directed officials to conduct conduct Covid-19 tests at railway stations, bus stands, airport and toll plaza of Agra-Lucknow Expressway, reported News18.
Haryana recorded 234 Covid-19 cases on Monday, of which 198 were from Gurugram and 21 from Faridabad, reported the Hindustan Times. The Haryana government had dropped the mask mandate on April 2.
The Chandigarh administration has also advised residents to wear masks when in public places, reported The Tribune. In its order, the administration said that the residents should use face covers in public transport, cinema halls, shopping malls, classrooms, offices and indoor gatherings.
However, the order did not say that wearing masks was mandatory.
Meanwhile, India on Monday reported 2,183 new coronavirus cases, a jump of 89.8% from Sunday’s 1,150 infections.
This was the first time in nearly a month that the country has registered more than 2,000 positive cases within 24 hours.
The health ministry also reported 214 deaths on Monday, taking the country’s total toll to 5,21,965. This includes 212 backlog deaths from Kerala.
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