Kerala government mandates wearing face mask; any violations will be punishable

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], April 27 (ANI): Ahead of the continuously increasing cases of Coronavirus, the Kerala government mandated the wearing of masks on Wednesday and said that any violations will be punishable.
"...In exercise of the powers conferred under section 20 (3) of the Disaster Management Act 2005, hereby orders that wearing of masks in all public places, gatherings, workplaces and during transport will be compulsory in the state. Violation of above instructions shall be punishable under the provisions of DM Act and other relevant laws in force," said Dr V P Joy (Chief Secretary), by the order of the state governor.
The decision came to light ahead of the continuously surging cases of Covid-19 in the country.
Earlier in the day, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare informed that India has reported 2,927 new cases in the last 24 hours.
The active caseload in the country has also increased from 15,636 to 16,279 and the active cases account for 0.04 per cent of the total cases.
According to the ministry, 32 patients have succumbed to the virus in the last 24 hours leading to the death toll due to Covid in the country to 5,23,654.
The daily cases positivity rate in India has also seen a rise from 0.55 per cent (on Tuesday) to 0.58 per cent (on Wednesday), while the weekly positivity rate stands at 0.59. (ANI)