Srinagar
In order to curb the spread of coronavirus, wearing of facemasks shall be mandatory for the people of Srinagar from May 1.
In this connection, Deputy Commissioner Srinagar Shahid Iqbal Chowdhary issued an order today making it mandatory for the people of the district to wear facemasks from May 1.
“Whereas, effective measures have been put in place across district Srinagar by stakeholder agencies/departments/organisations for containment of the spread of Coronavirus. This also included a greater public response to the advisories issued from time to time,” reads the order.
“Whereas, it has been felt necessary that measures for containment of COVID spread are made mandatory in public places. Wearing a mask lowers the chances of coronavirus entering the respiratory system through droplets left in the air from an infected person. Studies on this aspect have been examined,” it reads.
COVID-19: Wearing of face masks in public places to be mandatory with effect from May 1 in Srinagar.@diprjk @kansalrohit69 @listenshahid @PIB_India @PTI_News @ANI @PBNS_India @Nidhi pic.twitter.com/4bxyusF4ug
— Srinagar district administration (@srinagaradmin) April 29, 2020
“Whereas, it is also required that Government offices, Public & Private Establishments and organizations/ persons dealing with good &/or services, market places or such establishments, put in place effective measures for hygiene,” the DM said in the order.
“Therefore, I, Chairman, District Disaster Management Authority, by virtue of powers vested in me u/s 34 of The Disaster Management Act 2005 and u/s 144 of the CrPC, do hereby order that it shall be mandatory to wear Facemask/ Face-covering at all public places including public transport, offices, shopping or market places, etc. w.e.f 1st May 2020. Medical grade masks which are strictly for hospital use shall, however, be avoided for general use.”
The order provides that all government offices/private establishments, shops, mandis, etc. shall put in place arrangements for hand wash, sanitizers, soap, etc. as per the requirement.
“Information promoting hygiene/hand wash shall be displayed at all such places. This shall be applicable for all managed public places and institutions as well,” the order said.
The order directs all DDOs/supervisory officers to ensure that field functionary involved in the house-to-house survey, duties in red zones, COVID-containment strategies, quarantine/wellness centers, public distribution service including ration & LPG, essential services, etc. shall be provided facemasks and other protective gear as may be required as per laid down protocols.
The order states that all the government and the private hospitals shall notify and prominently display measures to be put in place for maintenance of hygiene/sanitization, and physical /social spacing or distancing and personal protection of staff and visitors/patients/attendants etc. “A copy of such notifications shall be forwarded to DDMA and any violation thereof shall be communicated for action on a regular basis,” it said.
“Assistant Commissioner Development, Srinagar (RRD being Nodal Department) shall make available for public use 15 lakh masks produced, as per government order, through Rural Development Department, Social Welfare Department, SHGs and other groups, after approval from the competent authority, for public distribution with a pack of 5 masks to be provided per family across district Srinagar,” the order reads.
“House to House distribution shall be made through RDD, ICDS, BLOs or other officers under the supervision of Additional District Magistrates in respective Zonal clusters,” reads the order.
