'Wearing masks compulsory in Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, Nagpur'

Wearing masks has been made compulsory in cities like Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, and Nagpur, where coronavirus has spread on a big scale, Maharashtra minister Anil Deshmukh said on Thursday. He also urged the residents of these cities not to step out of their homes without covering their mouths.

The Home Minister made the appeal in a video message, which his party NCP posted on its Twitter handle. "Wearing masks has been made compulsory in cities like Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, Nagpur, where coronavirus has spread on a big scale. So nobody should step out of their homes in these cities without wearing masks," he said.

Maharashtra has so far reported 1,297 COVID-19 cases. As many as 72 people have died due to the infection in the state till Wednesday.