On Wednesday, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant announced that Goa would soon be a 'mask free' state. Asked whether Goa would declare itself a 'mask free' state in view of the decline in active COVID-19 cases, the CM replied in the affirmative.
Collector will issue a notification in this regard
Only four new COVID-19 patients have been found in Goa in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of active patients in the state to 43. Since the beginning of April, there has been 29 new COVID-19 cases.
Maharashtra, Delhi, Telangana, and West Bengal had already relaxed COVID-19 norms in light of the declining number of positive cases in the country. However, World Health Organisation (WHO)'s guidelines to protect the public against coronavirus still mandate face masks.
Due to this, the government will still encourage people to wear masks instead of taking punitive action against those who do not wear them. But according to the information received, there will be no penalty or any other action if the mask is not worn from now.