COVID-19: Indian state to make masks mandatory by law

NEW DELHI

India's northern state of Rajasthan will make wearing of masks compulsory through a law on Monday as the country’s COVID-19 cases crossed the 8.2 million mark with 45,231 fresh infections.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said in a tweet that Rajasthan will be the first state in the country to enact a law to make wearing of masks mandatory from today.

He also said the state government has “taken the decision to ban the sale and bursting of firecrackers in order to protect the health of #COVID-19 infected patients & public from poisonous smoke emanating due to fireworks.”

According to the Indian Health Ministry, 45,231 new infections were registered over the past 24 hours, taking the total to 8.2 million. The death toll also reached 122,607 with 496 more deaths.

India is witnessing a steady decline in the daily cases, with a government-appointed panel last month saying India likely crossed the virus peak in September.

Presently, the active cases are below 600,000 with recoveries reaching 7.5 million.