COVID-19 case rise: Mumbai Police to challan people for not wearing masks

The police made the announcement amid rising COVID-19 cases in the city.

Mumbai Police Commission, Param Bir Singh, tweeted: "Dear Mumbaikars, @MumbaiPolice  is now authorised to issue challans to offenders not wearing a mask too. Every time we fined you for not wearing a helmet or seatbelt it was alway to remind you the value of your life & safety. Same for masks. Please take care. You matter to us."

Meanwhile, Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray today asked the people to strictly follow coronavirus protocols to avoid a new lockdown while pointing out that the pandemic situation in the state was "serious".

Thackeray said the daily figures of fresh coronavirus cases have doubled in the past few days in Mumbai which is one of the worst-hit cities in the country.

In a televised message, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said in the next eight to 15 days it will be known if this is a fresh wave of infection.

He told people the spread of the virus can be controlled if people wear masks and adhere to the coronavirus protocols.

Thackeray questioned if people really want another lockdown and said if they behave responsibly, the government would know in the next eight days.

"A few day ago Maharashtra was reporting 2,000 to 2,500 cases every day and now the daily fresh cases have risen to 7,000 and the active cases have spiked from 40,000 to 53,000...last year, the figures at the time of covid peak, are nearly the same what we are getting now...just imagine what the figures would be if we hit the peak again," he added.

He has asked the state administration to ban political, religious and social gatherings which require large assembly of people for some days.

Today, Amravati district administration today clamped a week-long shutdown from Monday to control the spread of the infection, media reports said.

The lockdown will be extended if people do not adhere to safety rules, the state government said and added that the decision to halt all non-essential activities was taken after coronavirus cases continued to rise in Maharashtra.

There has been a steady rise in coronavirus cases in Pune, Maharashtra, Amravati, Akola, Nagpur and Yavatmal districts and the administration in these districts have been asked to take a call on lockdown or other measures to arrest the spread of the infection, the Chief Minister added.

On Friday, Maharashtra reported 6,112 new coronavirus cases, 2,159 recoveries, and 44 deaths.

Maharashtra, which was one of the worst-hit states, started reporting over 6,000 cases nearly after three months. On Saturday, Maharashtra recorded 6,281 cases and 40 deaths. Mumbai on Saturday registered 897 cases.

Today, the state reported 6,971 cases and 35 deaths while Mumbai added 921 new infections.

Dr Shashank Joshi, a member of Maharashtra's Covid-19 task force has told NDTV that the 240 new strains of coronavirus that have emerged across India are responsible for the surge in fresh infections.