COVID-19: Citizens face two-year jail for not wearing masks, says Telangana government

Hyderabad: In view of the second wave of COVID-19 hitting the state and the number of infections rising rapidly, Telangana government has made the wearing of masks compulsory and warned that violators will be sent to jail.

The order was issued by the state Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar along with the announcement of several other restrictions on public gatherings.

The restrictions including the banning of public celebrations of festivals like Holi, Shab-e-Baraat, Good Friday, Ugadi, Rama Navami will be in force until April 30, he said. At least half of the holy month of Ramadan, starting on April 13 will fall in the period of restrictions.

High number

The official said that the restrictions were aimed at checking the further spread of the virus during the series of festivals. “We will have to strictly follow the COVID-19 guidelines. If we do not control the virus now, we will also end up like Maharashtra and Kerala reporting a high number of cases”, said Dr. Ramesh Reddy, Director of Medical Education, Telangana.

“Congregations pose a considerable threat of rapid transmission of COVID-19. Therefore it is decided that public celebrations/observances should not be allowed during upcoming religious events”, the government order said.

The government made it clear that not wearing the masks in public places will be a punishable offence under the Disaster Management Act and violators will be punished with fine and the imprisonment up to two years or both.

Directing the district collectors, superintendents of police and commissioners to strictly implement these instructions across the state, Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar said wearing face-mask was one of the most important interventions to prevent COVID-19.

School closures

However the Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao declared that there will not be any lockdown in the state on the lines of the one imposed in March 2020 bringing the life to a grinding halt.

He also clarified that the closure of schools and other educational institutions was a temporary step taken in view of the concern of parents.

In an alarming development the state has once again started witnessing increased infections and deaths.

In less than a fortnight the number of infections have doubled to touch 500.

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