Mask slipping out of faces, West Bengal chief secretary warns cops

KOLKATA: The mask is fast slipping out of the faces as West Bengal opens up and crowds of commuters trickle onto the roads. Alarmed over the propensity to de-masking even as Covid-19 cases spurt, state chief secretary Rajiva Sinha now writes to Bengal’s director general of police, the home secretary, commissioner of Kolkata Police and zonal inspector generals of police, pointing out that there must be stricter implementation of the mandatory wearing of masks and violators should be punished as specified in the state government order on masks dated April 12.
The chief secretary shot a letter to the police chiefs on Friday and said, “As a measure to contain spread of contagion, wearing of mask is important and must be ensured and enforces appropriately.”
Mentioning the state government’s notification “dated 12/04/2020 made wearing of masks mandatory”, the chief secretary wrote, “the directive needs to be complied in letter and spirit.” Sinha added that “the order of the state government clearly spells out the action that shall be taken in case of violation of the stated directives and guidelines.”
The order in April was issued by the chief secretary himself. It said it is critical to adopt “all possible measures for saving people from exposure to coronavirus”, adding that it “shall be mandatory to use this cover always, especially in public places”. Any violation is likely to attract a penalty. According to a senior official, any government order can be enforced under section 188 of IPC, which gives police the power to arrest and prosecute those who violate it. The offence is bailable and carries a maximum penalty of six months’ imprisonment.
A home department official told TOI on Monday, “The wearing of masks in public is mandatory, but people are seen forgoing the diktat indiscriminately. This is extremely risky as the state and the country goes into the mode of easing restrictions.” An official of Bidhannagar commissionerate said, “We have been catching people at random and asking them to wear masks. They are mainly from outside Salt Lake, coming in to the township work as domestic helps or to do off jobs. Some of them have masks hanging around their necks. We have been hauling them up, making them place the mask where it should be – covering the mouth and nose. The moment we leave the spot, the masks are back around the necks.”
The cops pleaded helplessness and admitted that they have mostly allowed these violators to go, after issuing warnings. “But now, I suppose we will have to take punitive measures,” an official said.
Pulmonologist AK Ghosh said, “Using face-masks in public (including low-efficacy cloth masks) helps minimize community transmission and the burden of Covid-18, provide their coverage level is high. But how can you make the uneducated understand this. Sometime we find the same apathy among the educated class as well. Everyone must realize that the disease has had a community spread and we need to act now.”
Several other states including Maharashtra, Delhi, Odisha, UP, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana have issued similar orders to contain the spread of coronavirus. The Bengal government’s order is flexible on the kind of material to be used to cover the face. It says the “mouth and nose should be covered by facial masks or any other available piece of cloth which may even include a properly folded or rolled dupatta, gamcha, handkerchief or any such material that acts as a protective cover”.