Delhi HC rules wearing mask mandatory even if person driving car alone

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday dismissed all the four petitions challenging the imposition of challans on people for not wearing a mask while they are driving alone in private cars.

The court stated that a mask acts as a 'Suraksha Kavach' which would prevent the spread of COVID-19 while adding that even if a car is occupied by just one person, it is a public space.

The HC emphasised the need to wear masks when around with senior citizens and people with comorbidities. It further said that masks should be worn even when a person is vaccinated.

The court cited the observation of several experts, doctors and researchers that emphasises the need to wear masks.

Delhi High Court's order comes against the backdrop of the country reporting over 1.15 lakh COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours.

According to the Union Health Ministry, the country recorded 1,15,736 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours. With this fresh surge, the total number of cases have reached 1,28,01,785.

The country reported 630 COVID-related deaths in the last 24 hours, while the active number of cases stands at 8,43,473.

As many as 59,856 people were discharged/recovered from the disease during the same period. With the new COVID-19 deaths, the cumulative toll in the country has mounted to 1,66,177.

The previous high was recorded on April 5 when the country reported 1,03,844 fresh COVID positive cases in a single day.

As many as 8,70,77,474 people have been inoculated against COVID-19 in the country so far.

From April 2, the government started vaccinating all people above 45 years. India started its vaccination drive on January 16 with priority given to all healthcare and frontline workers in the first phase. The second phase started on March 1 where doses were administered to people above the age of 60 and those between 45 and 59 years with specific comorbidities.

( With inputs from ANI )