CHENNAI: Wearing masks while stepping outside the house is mandatory and they should cover the mouth and nose, Health Secretary Dr J Radhakrishnan said on Thursday.
Interacting with vendors from shopping complexes in Alandur, Radhakrishnan said that people must also practise social distancing of two metres.
“People must strictly follow these measures especially when they go to crowded places like railway stations, bus stands, government offices, hospitals, vegetable markets, places of religious worship, and cloth shops," said Radhakrishnan.
He said people must not touch their masks with their hands and should wash them after they are used. The health secretary also advised people not to dispose of masks along with other garbage in public places.
He warned that people who do not wear masks outside their homes would be fined Rs 200, as per section 1939 of the Tamil Nadu Public Health Act, while people who spit in public places and those who do not maintain social distancing will be fined Rs 500.
The Health Secretary along with corporation officials inspected many shopping complexes in the city on Thursday.