Bhubaneswar: Addressing the people of Odisha, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Friday announced a 14-day-long mask mission starting Friday to win the battle against COVID-19 pandemic.
While reminding the women of their duties, he said if women at houses are alert then coronavirus can never enter their houses. He asked the women to ensure that their husbands, children and relatives always wear a mask while going out of their houses.
Naveen urged people to wear masks properly covering the mouth, nose and chin to keep COVID-19 at bay.
“The second wave of COVID-19 has already started and it is spreading fast. The only way to keep the disease at bay is to wear mask,” Naveen said in his address while adding that mask usage will become a habit if practised for 14 days.
Besides, the Chief Minister also urged those who have already received COVID-19 jabs to wear masks. Penalty for not wearing masks has been doubled as this is the only way to keep the disease at bay, he added.
Referring to the COVID-19 situation in several states where lockdown, shutdown and night curfew have already been imposed, he said, “Odisha has also been witnessing a spike in daily cases for the last few days. This can be broken only by following all the safety measures and usage of masks.
Notably, Odisha Friday reported the biggest single-day spike of 1,282 cases this year.