The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Sunday said that those found not wearing masks inside their private vehicles would not be fined. However, anyone travelling by public transport, such as taxis or rickshaws, will be penalized if they are found without masks. The new law came into effect on Sunday afternoon.
Due to the number of Covid-19 cases in the region, the BMC made the wearing of face masks/covers compulsory from April 8. The BMC also started making violators conduct community work, such as sweeping sidewalks, apart from collecting fines, if they argued or declined to pay the fine. Nevertheless, the penalty did not dissuade violators.
In September, the BMC reduced the fine from an initial Rs 1,000 to Rs 200 for not wearing a mask.
On average, 42 persons per day were penalized by the BMC and about 10,000 Rs were collected as fines per day. As per data given by the BMC, its teams had penalized 4.86 lakh individuals until November 28 and gathered Rs 10.07 lakh crore as fine for not wearing masks in public places.
Covid-19 In Maharashtra
After registering 2,910 new cases yesterday, Maharashtra’s COVID-19 tally rose to 19,87,678. On the other hand, the fatality count hit 50,388. On Saturday, a total of 3,039 patients were released, pushing the tally of recovered individuals to 18,84,127. The number of active patients therefore settled at 51,965.
The COVID-19 statistics for Maharashtra are as follows: positive cases: 19,87,678, new cases: 2,910, death toll: 50,388, discharged: 18,84,127, active cases: 51,965, individuals so far tested: 1,37,43,4866.