The Delhi government on Thursday announced that the fine for not wearing a face mask has been increased to Rs 2,000 from Rs 500 earlier.
While addressing the media, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that the government has decided to the hike the fine from Rs 500 to Rs 2,000 to ensure people comply with the rules. He said that wearing a mask regularly could reduce the spread of virus significantly.
"In Delhi, a large number of people are wearing masks but still some are not wearing them. A fine of Rs 2,000 will be imposed on anyone who is found not wearing a mask at a public place. Till now it was Rs 500. If you wear a mask, there are fewer chances of people contracting COVID-19. I appeal to all religious, social organisations and political parties to distribute masks," Kejriwal said.
Kejriwal also appealed to people to celebrate Chhath Puja at home as allowing celebrations for the festival may cause a spike in coronavirus cases.
"We want our brothers and sisters to celebrate Chhath Puja very nicely. Please celebrate but if 200 people enter into a pond at a time, and even if just one of them has COVID-19, all of them will contract the infection. This is also the opinion of experts. We should celebrate this time at our home," he said.
As many as 7,486 new positive cases were recorded in Delhi, including 6,901 recoveries and 131 deaths in the past 24 hours in the national capital, said the health department on Wednesday. The total number of COVID-19 cases in Delhi stood at 5,03,084 including 42,458 active cases, 4,52,683 recoveries and 7,943 deaths.
