Coronavirus cases: Tamil Nadu govt to slap Rs 200 spot fine for people not wearing mask in public

Chennai, Mar 09: In a bid to contain the spread of COVID-19 cases, the Tamil Nadu government has ordered a spot fine of Rs 200 on anyone found without a mask in public. Tamil Nadu Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan has ordered the officials to conduct random checks at public laces and impose a penalty on the people violating coronavirus guidelines.

Speaking to a media organisatio, Radhakrishnan said, "There is surging COVID cases and people should not take it lightly. You can see the increase in cases in Maharashtra and Kerala and if people behave like this, there will be a major increase in Tamil Nadu also which will turn difficult for the state and hence these measures."

So far, the administration has collected 13 crores from 14 lakh people as fine for not wearing masks.

It may be noted that Tamil Nadu has been reporting a surge in the COVID daily new cases. The southern state's coronavirus tally increased to 8,55,677 on March 8 as over 500 people were found to be infected with the contagious virus.

According to reports, Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu have been reporting a surge in the coronavirus daily new infections.