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Strict enforcement of COVID protocols once again in Chennai!!
Posted on: 06/Mar/2021 9:18:32 AM
It seems that the residents of Chennai are very casual about the Coronavirus infection pandemic now!!
Many warnings have been issued by GCC to the residents about the deadly Covid-19 infection but people are not bothered about their health. The shocking truth is that many in Chennai are not wearing facemasks now and the mask compliance has come down. On Thursday, the GCC asked the officials to enforce Covid protocols once again.
Until November 2020, GCC has been collecting a fine amount of more than Rs 3 lakhs per day for face mask compliance and in this month the fine amount has not crossed Rs 20000 per day on an average in all zones put together. Less compliance now is due to various factors like decrease in Covid-19 cases, election work plus reduced fear of pandemic etc. this was mentioned by some officers of GCC.
It is said that the face mask compliance has been poor in places like malls, parks etc. Information gathered is that those persons who got vaccinated for Covid-19 have stopped wearing masks against the advice of medical experts.
The shopkeepers now do not follow Covid-19 protocols like using thermal scanners or keeping hand sanitizers etc. This has been pointed out by a resident of Kodambakkam. He added that the security guards at some malls do not wear face masks also. An amount of Rs 3 crores as fine has been collected by GCC from April 2020 till November 2020. In November month itself, Rs 1 lakh was collected as a fine amount every day in zones like Royapuram, Tondiarpet etc.
It was highlighted by a senior office of GCC that when the cases fell below 500 in Chennai restrictions were relaxed and many became busy with election activities etc. In the recent meeting at Ripon Buildings on Thursday, the officials have been asked to penalise those who do not wear facemasks It must be noted that the number of Covid-19 cases have been increasing now once again especially in places where election rallies take place and this has been because of face mask non-compliance.
The politicians must set an example for the people and if they flouted Covid-19 protocols in the election rallies then the people would also flout the protocols. This was as per a Nanganallur resident. He concluded that imposing huge penalties was the only way by which GCC would be able to keep the Covid-19 cases under control.
