DM Act for COVID-19 revoked: Is wearing face mask mandatory?

New Delhi, Mar 23: As the Covid-19 pandemic recedes, many Countries around the world are gradually easing restrictions in a move to transition to pre-pandemic life. While some countries no longer have mask restrictions in place, most are still abiding by all the required restrictions to ensure people's safety.

After two years, the Government of India revoked provisions of the Disaster Management Act for COVID containment measures, as per the order issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs on Wednesday.

The Central government had on March 24, 2020 issued for the first time orders and guidelines under the Disaster Management Act, (DM Act) 2005 for the containment of COVID-19 in the country and these have been modified on various occasions.

So, will face mask be mandatory?

Yes, wearing of face mask and maintaining social distancing norms will continue as earlier.

In a communication to the chief secretaries of all states, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla said that over the last 24 months, significant capacities have been developed for various aspects of management of the pandemic, such as diagnostics, surveillance, contact tracing, treatment, vaccination, hospital infrastructure. Also, the general public now has much higher level of awareness on the COVID-appropriate behavior, he said.

The states and Union Territories have also developed their own capacities and systems and implemented their detailed specific plans for managing the pandemic, he said, adding over the last seven weeks or so there has been a steep decline in the number of cases.

It still remains to be seen how these updated mandates will play out.