Anyone who does not wear a face mask properly in public places will be penalised Rs 1,000 as per the existing orders, the health department said on Thursday. With two cases of the Omicron variant of the Coronavirus being discovered in neighbouring Karnataka, and one passenger from UK who arrived in Hyderabad being found Covid-19 positive, the department said it has advised the police to enforce the mask mandate.
Director of Public Health and Family Welfare told reporters that all those who have been vaccinated fully, should carry with them either a digital, or a hard copy of their vaccination certificates from now on. “There will be random checks in public places for vaccination status. Those who have not been vaccinated, or are not fully vaccinated will be counselled, to start with,” he said.
He warned stricter measures are on the cards to prevent entry of unvaccinated people into public places, be it malls, shopping areas, restaurants or other such places where people gather. “The government will be apprised of the situation and a decision will be taken on this. If people do not adopt safety measures on their own, then they will be enforced,” Dr Srinivasa Rao said.
