Tripura to observe ‘Face Mask Enforcement Day’ on Saturdays

Decision taken hours after CM tests positive for COVID-19

The Tripura government will observe ‘Face Mask Enforcement Day’ every Saturday to check the spread of COVID-19 in the State. The State’s Chief Secretary declared the decision in a memorandum issued hours after Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb tested positive for the infection on Wednesday.

The Chief Minister took to social media to inform that he had isolated himself as per the advice of doctors. He appealed to everyone to “follow the COVID-appropriate behaviour and stay safe”.

The Chief Secretary’s memorandum also directed health establishments to speed up the vaccination process. It directed the District Magistrates (DMs), Sub-Divisional Magistrates (SDMs) and the Block Development Officers (BDOs) to take necessary steps to create massive awareness in public places to encourage people to follow safety protocols.

The directives also advised the designated officials to enforce legal action against those found violating regulations, which include face masks, the use of sanitisers and maintaining physical distancing at all times. The officials were advised to use public address systems in markets and crowded places to create awareness about the restrictions and the health hazards of COVID-19.

The State government had earlier renewed the enforcement of the Disaster Management Act and the Epidemic Diseases Act to contain the fresh spurt in cases.

As many as 14 new cases were detected in the State over the past 24 hours. Health Department officials said the total number of infections now stood at 33,551.

A total of 33,068 of them have recovered and 389 patients have died.

At present, there were 71 active cases in the State, both in home isolation and in hospitals.

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