Delhi set to withdraw ₹500 fine for not wearing masks as Covid cases dip: Report

The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) is set to withdraw ₹500 fine for not wearing masks in public places in the national capital, news agency ANI reported on Wednesday. The no-mask fine stood at ₹2,000 in November, and was later brought down to ₹500 in February.

On April 2, the Delhi government had lifted the penalty of ₹500 for not wearing face masks at public places as the daily infections were fairly low. However, the fine was re-imposed again within three weeks as the national capital witnessed a nearly three-fold rise in the number of new cases between April 11 and April 18.

Apart from the removal of the fine, the DDMA has also extended the service contract of health care workers hired in Covid hospitals till the end of the year.

In the last 24 hours, the city has recorded 74 fresh Covid infections, whereas the case positivity rate stood at 1.07 per cent, according to data issued by the city health department. No Covid-related fatality was reported on Tuesday. As of now, there are a total of 45 containment zones in Delhi.

Meanwhile, India overall recorded 1,968 fresh infections on Tuesday, as against over 3,000 cases on Monday. In the week ending October 2, India witnessed over 26,300 fresh infections. Tuesday’s daily Covid tally is the lowest in 133 days. On May 23, a total of 1,675 cases were recorded in a span of 24 hours.

The latest dip is being seen as a respite as thousands across the country take part in festivities after two years of muted celebrations owing to the virus.