Delhi may revoke mask fine, de-scale Covid staff, equipment at hospitals

Keep your family safe from coronavirus in the festive season, Kejriwal said in a tweet in Hindi

The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) may lift the Rs 500 fine on not wearing masks in public places along with scaling down deployment of staff and equipment in hospitals in a phased manner as the city witnesses a steady decline in COVID-19 cases, sources said.

The DDMA met here on Thursday to review the Covid situation in the national capital and conduct an assessment of dedicated resources deployed at hospitals to tackle coronavirus.

L-G V K Saxena chaired the meeting, with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in attendance.

In its last meeting in April, the DDMA had made it mandatory for people to wear face masks at public places prescribing a fine of Rs 500 against defaulters.

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In the Thursday meeting, it was decided to enhance the surveillance of ILI-SARI cases to detect any early warnings, said sources present in the meeting.

They said that there was also a consensus on bringing up the percentage of precautionary dose of vaccination that currently stands at 24, to at least 40 to 50 per cent.

"Deployment of staff and equipment in hospitals will be scaled down in a calibrated and phased manner and health department will prepare an action plan," said a source.

There was also an emphasis on analysing the genome sequencing data to detect any surge in cases or new variant, with the expert members also stressing that there is no need to let the guard down.

Earlier in the day, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal urged people to get the booster dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.

"The DDMA meeting was held under LG sir's chairmanship. Took stock of the current situation of coronavirus. Several key decisions were taken. I appeal to all Delhiites to get booster doses of the vaccine.

"Keep your family safe from coronavirus in the festive season. Follow all the protocols to protect yourself from coronavirus," Kejriwal said in a tweet in Hindi.