KEY STORY
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The Karnataka government on Wednesday hiked the penalty for not wearing a mask in public places to Rs 1,000 in urban areas of the state while it remained to be Rs 500 in rural areas.
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Speaking to reporters, after a high-level meeting with officers Karnataka Medical Education Minister Dr K. Sudhakar said that the decision has been taken after careful consideration of recommendation by the senior officers.
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The official directive on the penalties will be out on Thursday, after discussing the same with the Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa.
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Earlier the government fixed the fine Rs 200. “In recent times, people have been showing negligence by not wearing masks. Hence, the fine has been increased from Rs 200.
#Karnataka: The penalty for not wearing a mask in public places has been hiked to Rs 1,000 in urban areas of the state while it is Rs 500 in rural areas, announced Medical Education Minister @mla_sudhakar. @IndianExpress
(File Photo) pic.twitter.com/5jFpY2nLun— Darshan Devaiah B P (@DarshanDevaiahB) September 30, 2020
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The fine will be imposed on those not fully covering their noses and mouths with masks. The fine will be imposed and collected by police stations in each area,” he added.
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The government has also decided to take strict action against the people who gather more than 50 people in any public events
“No more than 50 people can attend social, religious, political gatherings as well as weddings and other cultural ceremonies. Actions will be initiated against the organisers or owner of the organisation if more people are found gathering,” Sudhakar explained.
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The high level meeting also decided that the Markets, malls and other public places cannot have more than five people in a group.
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A distance of six feet must be maintained between the people in the group. If found otherwise, a fine will be imposed on the owner of the organisation or shop.
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The Minister said that a special plan has been chalked out to raise awareness about Covid19. Politicians, sports and film stars, religious leaders will be roped in to make short clips of videos.
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Along with this, he added, Covid19 can be contained further if members of welfare organisations, Lions Club, Rotary Club among others, join hands with the Government to create awareness among people.
CONCLUSION
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According to the government, a total of 15 districts in the state have been recording more than 10 percent cases.
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A meeting via video conference was held with district administrations of Mysuru, Hassan, Dakshina Kannada, Tumakuru, Shivamogga, and Koppala, on Wednesday.
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On the occasion, instructions were issued to the DCs, DHOs and other officials concerned to reduce the Covid19 positive cases in the districts. A similar meeting will be held with the rest of the districts in the days to come, Dr Sudhakar informed.
“Buses (public transport) can operate with 50% capacity. Conductors will be instructed to allow only those with masks into the buses. All government employees must wear masks. They will not be allowed to enter the office if they are found without their masks. This will be followed strictly in all government officers,” he added.
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Karnataka on Tuesday, reported a record 10,453 new Covid-19 cases while Bengaluru alone reported for 4,868 cases.
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The spike sees Bengaluru’s total cases rise to over 2.28 lakhs of which 46,610 are active and 2912 have died including 67 who were added on Tuesday. Karnataka and Bengaluru crossed testing milestones as the state tested 87,475 samples on Monday and Bengaluru 33,304.
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The total covid cases in Karnataka is 5,92,911 of which 1,07,737 are active and over 8,777 people have lost their lives and on Tuesday the state reported 136 more deaths.
