Uttarakhand Governor Baby Rani Maurya on Saturday approved an ordinance which made the COVID-19 guidelines in the state more stringent. According to it, people not wearing face masks at public places will be fined Rs 5,000 and could even land them in jail for 6 months, reported NDTV.
The report said that the stringent decision was taken after a number of people were found violating lockdown rules and roaming the streets without masks. The new rule has become applicable from today (Saturday) itself.
Fines for not wearing masks have also been enforced in Ahmedabad, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
Meanwhile, Uttarakhand on Saturday reported 35 new COVID-19 cases, taking the total positive cases to 1,759, said the state health department.
The total COVID-19 cases include 707 active cases and 1,023 recoveries. As many as 21 people have succumbed to the infection in the state so far.
India's COVID-19 tally on Saturday witnessed its highest-ever spike of 11,458 cases, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW).
A total of 386 deaths have been reported due to the infection in the last 24 hours.
The total number of coronavirus cases in the country now stands at 3,08,993, including 1,45,779 active cases 1,54,330 cured /discharged/ migrated and 8,884 deaths.
(With ANI inputs)
