The fine for not wearing a mask has been increased to Rs 1,000 from August 11 onwards, said Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Monday. The decision has been taken in view of the rising number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in the state.
Earlier, the fine was raised from Rs 200 to Rs 500 last month. The fine for mask violation, before today’s change, was Rs 500 in Gujarat which had come into effect from August 1 onwards.
“Fine for not wearing mask increased from Rs 200 to Rs 500, effective across the state from August 1,” the Gujarat Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) had said back in July.
The Gujarat government had earlier made simple face masks available at all Amul milk parlours in the state at a cost of just Rs 2 per mask.
According to the Union Health Ministry, there are 14,147 active COVID-19 cases in Gujarat. While 54,166 patients have been cured/discharged or migrated, the death toll stands at 2,652. The total COVID-19 tally in the state stands at 71,064 cases.
Among the worst-hit districts, Surat reported the highest number of 222 new cases, followed by Ahmedabad with 153 infections. Surat also reported the nine fatalities, the highest in the state, and 589 recoveries on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Vadodara reported 110 new positive cases, Rajkot 95, Jamnagar 63, Panchmahal 47, Amreli and Bhavnagar 35 each, Gir Somnath 32, Bharuch 28, Junagadh 27, Kutch 25, Valsad 21, Dahod and Surendranagar 18 each, Kheda, Mehsana and Patan 11 each, Botad, Narmada and Sabarkantha 10 each, among others.
(With agency inputs)
Source: dnaindia.com