In a bid to arrest the sharp rise in the Coronavirus cases in the National Capital, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday announced that a Rs 2,000 fine will be imposed on those caught without wearing face masks at public places. The decision came after the Chief Minister held an all-party meet in the Capital. Addressing the media after the meeting, Kejriwal said that all leaders have decided to set the politics aside and fight the pandemic. Delhi has been witnessing a spike in the viral infections since Diwali festival. Experts have been warning about the same for quite some time now. The situation has also worsened due to additional factors such as air pollution and the onset of the winter season.
The latest report says that over 60 hospitals in the National Capital don’t have beds in ICU wards. While the Centre says that all help is being given to the Kejriwal government, several AAP leaders have said that the Modi government is not listening to them.
Back in July, during the first wave of the Covid-19 infections, the Kejriwal government was lauded for beating the pandemic by bringing down the positivity rate and the number of deaths. Home isolation, more testing was seen as the key to the plan. This time around, the experts are saying that pandemic fatigue is the reason why people are not adhering the mask discipline and hand hygiene.
Penalising those for not wearing face masks has been part of the strategy adopted by several state governments across India. Earlier in Delhi, a fine of Rs 500 was imposed on those caught without face masks. Over Rs 2 crore mask penalty was collected by the authorities in Delhi in June-July earlier this year.
