Amid Covid surge in state traders in Haldwani say ‘no mask, no goods’
HALDWANI/DEHRADUN: Amid the rising number of Covid-19 cases in the state, traders in Haldwani city of Nainital district have decided not to give goods to those coming to their shops without wearing masks.
The decision was taken by Devbhoomi Udyog Vyapar Mandal, a traders’ association in Haldwani, in an attempt to create awareness among the public to follow Covid-19 precautions.
“We have initiated the ‘no mask no goods’ move amid the surge in cases of the deadly virus. We will sell goods only those people who wear masks and maintain social distancing in shops and markets during shopping,” said Hukum Singh Kunwar, president of the traders’ body.
“If any customer comes to our shop to buy anything, firstly we will urge him/her to wear mask and maintain social distancing, so that people can be safe from coronavirus,” he said.
Kunwar said that during the first wave of infections, all shops and markets were closed during the lockdown; even after relaxations in the lockdown, many shops weren’t opened as their owners had got infected.
“This time during the second wave, we are more vigilant and don’t want to take any risk regarding Covid-19. Hence, this move,” he said.
District health department officials have welcomed the move, calling it necessary considering the current “worrisome” situation.
Dr Rashmi Pant, additional chief medical officer of Nainital, said, “It has been observed that people are not following Covid-19 protocol, such as wearing mask and maintaining social distancing, when they are shopping. In such a situation, there is a risk of getting infected by both the customer and shopkeeper.”
CM tests negative for Covid-19
Meanwhile, chief minister Tirath Singh Rawat, who was under home isolation after testing positive for Covid-19 in March, tested negative in RT-PCR test on Sunday.
Rawat shared the information through his official accounts on Facebook and Twitter, and expressed his “gratitude to almighty for testing negative and recovering from the infection.” His wife, who had tested positive a few days ago, is at present under home isolation.
Uttarakhand has so far recorded 101,717 Covid-19 cases, including 439 on Saturday. Of the total cases, 95,825 have been treated while 1,725 are active cases. The total deaths in the state from the virus infection was 1725 till Saturday with a death rate of 1.70%. The total number of people fully vaccinated was 127,526 till Saturday.