Over 15 lakh caught without masks in Mumbai since April 2020

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, theMumbai civic body has caught over 15 lakh people without facemasks at public places in the city since April last year andcollected more than Rs 30 crore as fine from them, officialssaid on Wednesday.

Out of these offenders, 13,008 were caught on Mondayand a fine of Rs 26,01,600 was collected from them, aBrihnamumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) official said.

Concerned over the recent surge in COVID-19 cases inMaharashtra, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday askedcitizens to strictly follow government-mandated guidelines onmasks and social distancing or be prepared to face anotherround of lockdown.

The BMC has been imposing a fine of Rs 200 for notwearing a face mask in public places.

From April 1, 2020 to February 15 this year, the BMCcaught 15,16,398 people without face masks and collected atotal of Rs 30,69,09,800 from them, civic officials said.

As per the BMC data, the highest number of 1,08,069people were caught without face masks in Mumbai's K-West ward,which includes areas like Juhu, Andheri (West) and Versova.

Besides, the lowest number of 25,847 offenders werefound in M-East ward, which comprises Anushakti Nagar, Deonar,Cheetah Camp and Shivaji Nagar areas.

The BMC has repeatedly appealed to citizens to followall COVID-19 protocols, including wearing of face mask,maintaining social distance and sanitising hands regularly.

Of late, the city has been witnessing a spike in dailyCOVID-19 cases, and some civic wards have issued letters tohousing societies under their jurisdiction and instructed themto follow the COVID-19 guidelines, a civic official said.

''At present, the M-west ward is reporting highestdaily cases, which is a matter of concern, and there arechances that we might have to impose local lockdown measures,''said a notice issued to a society in the M-West ward.

The notice further said sealing of buildings/societies having high prevalence of positivity has beenstarted in the ward.

''If the same is observed in your society, the samerestrictions with sealing can be imposed in your society,'' thenotice warned.

In the notice, the civic body also instructed housingsocieties to restrict the entry of outsiders to minimum,including domestic helps and milk delivery persons.

It asked the housing societies take measures likethermal screening and if a positive case is found, then thefamily members should follow strict quarantine guidelines for14 days and get tested compulsorily.

Any other symptomatic person in the society shouldalso get checked for the coronavirus infection, it added.