COVID19 Masks will now be optional and not mandatory. Indian States, New Delhi and then Maharashtra, which faced the biggest humanitarian crisis due to Covid19, have made Masks optional and people will not be fined if they don’t wear their masks in public places.
Maharashtra Government will lift all pandemic-related restrictions from Saturday as the state welcomes the Marathi New Year.
Meanwhile, the Delhi government on Thursday further relaxed COVID guidelines and said there will be no fine for not wearing face masks in public places in the national capital.
The decision was taken by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) during a meeting to review the COVID situation. Earlier, wearing masks in public places, including buses and metro trains was made mandatory for all.
The use of Covid19 masks will be advised, but it will not be compulsory, the state government said. Bengal and Delhi too, removed the “mandatory” tag from covid19 masks, though their use has been advised in crowded areas.
In Maharashtra, the announcement came from the Office of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.
“All COVID restrictions in Maharashtra will be lifted, as we bring in the new year this Gudi Padwa!” read a tweet from its handle, referring to the spring festival to mark the traditional New Year for Marathi and Konkani Hindus.
All COVID restrictions in Maharashtra will be lifted, as we bring in the new year this Gudi Padwa!
COVID19 Masks in New Delhi and Maharashtra will now become optional not mandatory
The decision to drop all restrictions after nearly two years was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by the Chief Minister, the state Health Minister, Rajesh Tope, told reporters.
The number of fresh daily Covid infections in the state has dwindled to around 100 a day and no new fatalities are being reported. On Monday, there were 964 active cases across 35 districts. Yavatmal, Washim and Hingoli districts have zero active cases, read a report from the state health department.
Altogether, the state has reported 78,73,619 cases of infections since the outbreak started in 2020; 1,47,780 people have died, the health department said.
