COVID-19 numbers up in Gurugram as government makes masks no longer mandatory

Haryana’s Gurugram has recorded as many as 129 cases of COVID-19 after more than a month. The spike in numbers are seen after the Haryana government lifted the mandatory tag on masks. A similar trend was also observed in Delhi, which called off the fine on non-usage of masks, practically making them optional.

Last time, in Gurugram, the cases crossed 100 mark was on March 4, when 115 cases were recorded. Thereafter, the numbers had dropped below 100.

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On February 16, Haryana had lifted all COVID-related restrictions in the state. The government, however, had advised mask usage in crowded areas.

On Monday, Delhi reported 137 fresh COVID cases, with the positivity rate rising to 2.7%, the highest in the last two months, triggering concerns about the resurgence of the virus in the national capital.

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The positivity rate stood at 2.87% on February 5.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has said that there is no need to panic.

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“We are keeping a close watch on the situation. There’s no major reason to panic right now. We will take all necessary steps according to the situation,” Kejriwal was quoted as saying by news agency Press Trust of India.

With the positivity rate jumping from 0.5 per cent on April 4 to 2.70% on Monday, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain had said the city government is keeping a watchful eye on the Covid situation and there is no reason to worry until a new variant of concern is detected, reported PTI.

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“The daily cases in Delhi are being reported in the range of 100-200. We are keeping an eye on hospital admissions and they are going down. Focus shouldn’t be on positivity rate much as of now,” Mr Jain had said on Monday.

Earlier, the Centre had advised Delhi, Haryana, Kerala, Maharashtra and Mizoram to take pre-emptive action to control the spike in COVID-19 cases after they reported a higher number of fresh infections.