Looking the current situation and the rapid rise in the number of cases in Mumbai over last 24 hours the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has made it mandatory for people stepping out of their homes to wear masks to check the spread of COVID-19.
“Anybody not wearing the masks can be charged under provision of Section 188 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and may be arrested by the police,†the BMC said in a notification on Wednesday.
The order was passed as a measure to fight against the deadly virus and as studies have revealed that wearing face masks can substantially reduce the spread of coronavirus from and to persons coming in contact with each other, besides other mandatory social distancing measures already implemented.
“The masks can be the regular three-layer masks or cloth masks, either available with pharmacies or home-made which can be washed and reused after disinfecting them,†the order signed by municipal commissioner Praveen Pardeshi said.
The BMC order comes hours after Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray asked people to start using mask if coming out to buy essentials and said that the people will have to use them for some period to be safe from infection.
CM in the earlier address said that “People should use masks while stepping out of their homes.†“We don’t have any other option†he added while regretting for the inconvenience caused to citizens due to lockdown.
He also appealed to the citizens especially the high risk category ones with ailments like heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes to maintain dietary restrictions.
