Cabinet warns of jail for not using masks

Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam on Monday said the government is likely to go tough on those who are still reluctant to put on face masks when on the streets to tackle the second wave of deadly coronavirus pandemic.
"People who are found not using it are being penalized now. But, it's not working properly. Those, who will not follow the WHO health guidelines including using face masks, will have to face jail term for the offence," he said while
briefing media after Monday's virtual Cabinet meeting held at the Secretariat.
Connecting from official residence Ganabhaban virtually, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina chaired the meeting while her Cabinet colleagues attended from Secretariat's Cabinet conference room.
In the briefing, Anwarul Islam said the authorities are trying to create awareness among the people penalising them for not using face masks. If it doesn't work, they will be compelled to award imprisonment from this week to tackle transmission of the deadly virus further.
"We said earlier that the government will take stringent action from this week against those not using face masks. We have got positive response from other districts except Dhaka city. The district level people are aware of using the masks," he said, adding, "Initially, the highest penalty of Tk 500 is being imposed on defiers of the order. If it doesn't work, we cannot take risks."
"Those who will violate the guidelines may have to face jail term. They will have to stay seven to 10 days in jail for the violation," he added.