The Gujarat government on Monday increased the fine for not wearing mask in public places to Rs 1,000 from the present Rs 500.

Gandhinagar: In a bid to stem the spread of Covid-19, the Gujarat government on Monday increased the fine for not wearing mask in public places to Rs 1,000 from the present Rs 500.

The decision came after the Gujarat High Court in its order last month asked the government to collect a minimum fine of Rs 1,000 from those found without mask in public places.

N-95 maskIn the wake of the rising number of coronavirus cases in the state, the high court had observed that "masks are logically the best defense individuals have against Covid-19".

"Following the high court directive, the penalty for not wearing mask in public will be Rs 1,000 from August 11 onwards," Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said here.

Fined

To stop human-to-human transmission of the virus, Rupani urged people not to come out of their homes to celebrate festivals, including Janmashtami which falls on Tuesday.

The Gujarat government had recently increased the fine for not wearing mask to Rs 500 from Rs 200.