BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday announced a 14-day mask mission to contain the rapidly worsening Covid-19 situation in the State.“Do not step out of home without a mask. Mothers have an important role to play in ensuring Covid appropriate behaviour in families,” the Chief Minister said in his address to the people.
“If we strictly follow any rule for 14 days, it will become a habit with us. We should not just throw the mask around our necks. The mask should cover the nose and mouth. Then only we can defeat the Covid-19 pandemic without resorting to a further lockdown,” Naveen said and urged people to wear masks in a proper way.
Stating that the entire society should not be allowed to suffer only for a few people, the Chief Minister said he has asked the administration to double the amount of penalty on those not wearing masks as it is the only way to fight the deadly virus.
“Those who have not taken vaccine and even those who have taken should follow this. If you don’t want to lose your livelihood, you must wear it,” he added. Sounding a cautionary note, the Chief Minister said, “Now we are going through the second wave of the pandemic. Some countries are going through the third wave of the pandemic and we do not know how many waves we have to fight to defeat the virus,” he added.
Stating that several states have declared lockdown, shutdown and night curfew to contain the surge, the Chief Minister said Odisha is also witnessing a rapid increase which can be avoided if everyone follows the safety protocols and uses a mask. The Chief Minister’s announcement came on a day when Odisha witnessed the biggest spike of 1,282 cases in 2021.
Soon after the Chief Minister’s address to the people, the Health and Family Welfare department doubled the penalty for not wearing masks and violating regulations. As per the amended regulations, penalty for first and second offence will be Rs 2,000 while it will be Rs 5,000 for subsequent offence. Earlier, fine for not wearing mask was Rs 1,000 for first and second offence and Rs 5,000 for subsequent offence.
Stringent penalty
1st and second offence Rs 2,000
subsequent offence Rs 5,000