Nashik: Aren’t you wearing facemasks despite multiple requests from the administration? Don’t worry, now if you fail to wear the mask you will be directly taken to the COVID-19 testing centre.

Nashik administration, with the help of the local police, has decided to take strict action against those found without face masks in public around the city.

Recently, Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) Commissioner Kailas Jadhav declared an order about imposing a fine of Rs 200 from those flouting the COVID-19 norms. Moreover, police cases will be filed against them and their swabs samples will be collected for the COVID-19 testing.

According to the rule, people found violating the rules are checked for symptoms. If any of them show any signs, the cases are sent for an RT-PCR Test. Over 800 people such people were sent for RT-PCR testing of which many tested positive. Despite repeated requests being made to people for following COVID protocols, many are neglecting the importance of wearing masks.

The Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) has started to penalise the violators and have recovered a huge amount from them. According to reports, over 1,700 people are found breaching the rules where more than Rs 3.50 lakh have been recovered as fine from them.

On the other side, Nashik is witnessing a sudden spurt in new coronavirus cases. At least 44 police personnel attached within the Nashik Police Commissionerate have tested positive for the novel virus. To curtail the further spread of the infection, a curfew has been enforced in Nashik from 7 pm to 7 am on Saturday and Sunday. During this period, only the shops selling essential commodities will be permitted to open.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra reported 35,692 new cases on Thursday. With this, there are a total of 2,6,00,833 cases found to date.

Of the total cases found in the state, 3,000 new cases were reported in Nashik on Thursday. The caseload here now has gone up to 1,56,899 while death total increased to 2,262 with 15 people reported dead amid the contagion.