Omicron: Rs 1000 fine for appearing without mask in Telangana

The State health department of Telangana under the wake of the new covid variant Omicron is on high alert and directed the police to fine people without masks up to Rs 1000. Telangana Health Minister Harish Rao said that a new variant has entered India and people should be alert about the virus.

Hyderabad: As a part of the precautionary measures, Telangana state government has decided to impose a fine of Rs 1000 for not wearing a mask in public.

Announcing the decision of the health ministry, Director of Public Health Dr Srinivasa Rao on Friday said, "Those who appear without masks in the state have to cough up a hefty sum. Police are directed to impose a fine of Rs 1,000, if found without a mask,"

He also said that strict regulations on vaccination would be formulated with the permission of the government. Rao said that "the vaccination certificate would be mandatory for going to places like hotels, restaurants, and parks. In addition, those who were "not vaccinated would not be allowed in public places in the future,"

Raising concerns over the spread of the new Covid‌ variant in the state of Telangana, the state department of health is on high alert to avoid spread of virus.

Reiterating the same, Telangana Health Minister Harish Rao said that "a new variant has entered India and people should be alert about the virus but people need not worry. We are ready to face Omicron. But people are advised to wear masks and maintain social distance,"

He advised all people above 18 years to take the Corona vaccine immediately. Rao also said that all measures are being taken to curb the entry of Omicron into the state and 27,000 beds were kept ready for patients.

The people have let down their guard since July this year. The people slowly resumed to normalcy but overlooked Covid protocols over the time. Due to this negligent attitude, the number of cases has been gradually increasing over the last two weeks. The state recorded 180 to 200 new positive cases on Friday.

Already, new variant Omicron entered Karnataka due to International travellers. At the same time, there is concern that the number of cases might increase in the days to come and could spread to Telangana state as well.

Coming to air travel, among those people who arrived in Telangana on Wednesday from two international flights were 239 from Telangana, 72 from Andhra Pradesh, 10 from Maharashtra, 2 from Madhya Pradesh, one each from Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan. Their information was shared with health departments of other states.

Airport officials were alerted on Wednesday when a woman from Britain tested Covid positive. The woman was shifted to a hospital in Gachibowli and is being treated in a special ward. Her test samples were sent to CCMB, Hyderabad for genome testing.

Meanwhile, Suryapeta District Medical Officer Dr. Kotachalam tested Covid positive in Telangana. As soon as his son came from abroad recently, all the family members went to Tirupati and reached his home in Trimulgherry two days ago.

Six members of the family tested positive. All of them are currently in self-isolation.