Telangana govt. bans spitting in public places to curb coronavirus spread

The Telangana government has issued a government order (GO) on Wednesday imposing ban on spitting of paan and gutkha in public places as an effort to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

The notice said that the spitting of paan or chewable tobacco or non-tobacco product in the public places or institutions is banned with immediate effect.

"The coronavirus outbreak has brought to the fore the importance of hygiene and cleanliness in both personal as well as public spheres that require strict measures on unhealthy practices that may lead to the spread of viruses and other infections," said Shanthi Kumari, principal secretary of the health department.

Director of Medical Education Dr K Ramesh Reddy said that there will be no penalty imposed in this regard and also no specific plan was chalked out to enforce the new norm. It is the conscience of the people that will make every step of government a success, he said.

Meanwhile, all the paan shops in Telangana were already closed in the view of the 21-day national lockdown.