MASKS NOT MUST IN STATE

State public health minister Rajesh Tope says no fines for not wearing masks but appealed to citizens to follow pandemic protocols in public spaces

Despite a surge in Covid-19 cases, the Maharashtra cabinet on Thursday decided not to make the use of masks mandatory in the state. This was announced by public health minister Rajesh Tope after the weekly cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. “The state government is keeping a close vigil on the present pandemic situation. As of now, use of masks has not been made compulsory. Citizens will not have to pay any fine for lack of use of masks. However, my appeal is to wear masks in public places,” he said.

The state government had relaxed the norms for the mandatory use of masks, and made them optional, from Gudi Padwa.

The cabinet’s decision came a day after the CM asked district collectors to impress upon people to wear masks, at least in confined spaces like cinema halls, auditoriums and offices. He also said that efforts should be made to stop the fourth wave of the pandemic. “If we don’t want restrictions again, self-discipline, use of masks and vaccination are inevitable,” he added.

The cabinet’s decision is important, especially when several states like Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Kerala have made use of masks mandatory and also imposed fines for non-compliance.

Tope explained that the state government is taking measures to curb the spread of infection by stepping up the pace of testing and vaccination.

The state’s Covid-19 Task Force headed by Dr Sanjay Oak, in its presentation to the CM, had suggested the

use of masks in confined places should be made mandatory. A task force

member, Dr Rahul Pandit, appealed to the citizens to not panic but wear masks in confined places.