Mask Kaiku : Corona toh Margayana

Hyderabad: "Mask kaiku? Corona toh mar gaya! Sarkar ne boldiya Corona khatam ho gaya''. This is the general reaction of the public not only in the city but in many districts as well. The big question is who is responsible for this?

The political executive or the administration? The fact is that people had started believing that the virus is gone forever and with vaccines having been found it's back to pre-Covid period.

The political executive was busy fighting elections and the administration just blinked at the health protocols. With unabated spread of virus now attributed to not wearing masks, the officials have decided to impose penalties on those who are not using facemasks properly.

Those who do not wear masks have to shell out a penalty ranging from Rs 200 to Rs 2,000 depending upon the severity of norms violation. The fine will also apply for those who wear masks in inappropriate ways.

Awareness will be created for a week and then the action will be taken against the violators. The police department has been given authority to fine people for not wearing masks.

In areas like LB Nagar, Kukatpally and Begum Bazar, police personnel educated people on the need to use masks, sanitise hands and maintain social distance.

The police also took photos of the people who were not using masks and warned them that cases would be filed against them if they do not use the masks.

Strict enforcement of wearing masks is aimed at breaking the chain of the virus, said an official. It is not only useful to stay free from the corona virus but also to prevent the spread of other viruses as well, the health official said.

Elaborating about imposing penalty, G Srinivas Rao, Director of Public Health, said the country was under the second wave of Covid-19 and thousands of cases were being recorded daily in neighboring States. The Covid-19 cases in Telangana State are also spreading rapidly.

Explaining the reason behind the second wave of Covid-19, Srinivas Rao said that not wearing masks was a major reason for the second wave of the pandemic. Citizens stopped wearing masks after the vaccine was introduced, but they must understand that the vaccine cannot kill the virus, it can only help to be uninfected.

Warning people of the second wave, Rao said that the virus would be at its peak in April and would be under control by July if people cooperated and followed the norms strictly.

"Otherwise it will be tough to control the situation," he said and appealed to people to avoid coming out of home if it is not necessary and also requested to stay away from gatherings, congregations and public places as possible.

The official said 300 Covid-19 mobile test centres have been set up across the State as priority. These are the additional test centres apart from the existing ones and will be available in all districts.