COVID-19: Wearing masks at public places made mandatory in Chandigarh

The Chandigarh administration on Tuesday made it mandatory for people to wear masks in public places to check the spread of the novel coronavirus.

“We have made it mandatory for people in Chandigarh to wear masks or cloth on their face from Wednesday,” the Union Territory of Chandigarh Adviser Manoj Parida said here.

He said anybody flouting the order will be warned by the police. However, the decision regarding levying penalty on violators is yet to be taken, Parida said.

He said Chandigarh will be the first Union Territory (UT) which has made wearing masks mandatory.

The UT of Chandigarh has reported 18 coronavirus cases so far and of them, seven have been cured, Parida said.

Besides, the administration has also decided that the payment of water and electricity charges and payment of house rent, including for rehabilitation colonies, will be deferred, he said.

Chandigarh administrator V P Singh Badnore on Tuesday held a meeting to view the situation here.

Parida informed Badnore that the number of positive cases had come down in Chandigarh to 11 because of curfew measures and observation of social distancing by residents.