The Delhi government, on Thursday, issued an order stating that the provision to impose a penalty of Rs 500 on the general public for not wearing a face mask in public places stands withdrawn.
The order came after the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) in a meeting on September 30 decided to stop levying the penalty on not wearing a mask at public places. However, “in crowded public places, all public are advised to wear masks”, the government stressed the order from the Health and Family Welfare department of Delhi Government.
“Though wearing of masks was useful in maintaining the Covid Appropriate Behavior, yet it was agreed that the order of compulsory wearing of masks under the Epidemic Act may not be extended beyond 30.09.2022. Hence a Fine of Rs 500/- for not wearing masks in public places would also stand withdrawn after 30.09.2022,” the DDMA had said in the meeting.
The decision was taken amid the declining trajectory of fresh Covid cases on a daily basis in the city. The national capital recorded 107 fresh Covid cases with a positivity rate of 1.64 per cent on Wednesday, according to the data shared by the health department. No Covid-related fatality was reported in the city.
On Tuesday, Delhi had reported 141 new Covid-19 cases with a positivity rate of 2.04 per cent.
Back in April, the DDMA re-imposed the fine for not wearing face masks in public places.
The notification came days after Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya held a review meeting over the emergence of the new Omicron variant.
Mandaviya stressed the need for community awareness for continued implementation of the COVID Appropriate Behaviour (CAB), especially in view of the upcoming festival season.
The team of scientists, doctors and senior officials has also recommended increasing surveillance and genome sequencing.
Meanwhile, new cases of Covid including those from the XBB, a new sub-variant of the Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, have been detected in parts of India.