New Delhi, Apr 22 (PTI) The Delhi government has asked district magistrates to form teams to ensure implementation of the mandatory mask rule in the city that comes into effect from Friday.

However, sources said in view of the government offices running with full capacity and their staff withdrawn from COVID-19 duties, it will be a challenge to enforce the mask mandate.

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"This time we will form fewer teams because not much manpower is at our disposal. Also, we expect people to cooperate and use face masks like they did during the height of the pandemic," a senior government officer said.

Civil defence volunteers will be deployed in districts to keep a watch on violators, the government said.

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During previous waves of the pandemic, each district formed several teams comprising personnel from different departments for enforcement of Covid-appropriate behaviour.

Within three weeks of lifting its mask mandate, the Delhi government Friday made masks mandatory at public places with immediate effect, and imposed a fine of Rs 500 for any violation as coronavirus cases have started rising in the city.

On April 2, the Delhi government had lifted the penalty of Rs 500 for not wearing face masks at public places as cases were fairly under control for a few weeks before that. Coronavirsu cases and positivity rate have been on the rise for the past few days in the national capital.

On Thursday, it logged 965 fresh cases and one death. A day before on Wednesday, the number of fresh cases had crossed 1000 mark.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)