The Tamil Nadu government has made masks mandatory in the state yet again with the number of COVID-19 cases on the rise. According to a press release from the department of health and family welfare, action will be taken against those not wearing masks and not following all COVID-19 precautionary measures.
Tamil Nadu's daily coronavirus cases rose sharply as 1,472 infections were logged on Sunday, June 26, pushing the caseload to 34.68 lakh. The total toll remained unchanged at 38,026 with no fresh fatalities recorded in the latest 24-hour period, a medical bulletin said. As many as 691 people have recuperated from the virus in this time period, aggregating to 34.22 lakh recoveries leaving 7,458 active cases.
Chennai accounted for the majority of new cases at 624, followed by Chengalpet with 241 and Coimbatore with 104, while the remaining cases were scattered in 33 districts of the total 38. The Tamil Nadu government said the fresh cases were rising in many parts of the state as people were showing laxity in adhering to COVID-19 protocols. The government in a statement said it would be collecting fines under the Tamil Nadu Public Health Act 1939, from those who do not follow COVID-19 rules in public places.
“The number of COVID-19 cases have been increasing continuously owing to the lack of public wearing masks. However, by maintaining physical distance, wearing masks properly covering the mouth and nose, and other precautionary measures, the number of cases can be brought under control,” the statement read.
The state capital leads among districts with 3,395 active infections and an overall tally of 7.58 lakh coronavirus cases. A total of 25,821 samples were tested in the latest 24-hour period, pushing the cumulative number of tests so far to 6.70 crore.