Chennai, Apr 16 (IANS): Authorities in Tamil Nadu's Ranipet have made wearing of face masks mandatory in the district amid surge in Covid cases in the state.
District Collector S. Valarmathi has also directed people to maintain social distancing in crowded areas.
However the state Health Department has said that there was no need of panic as the state has not witnessed any large clusters and the cases are mostly isolated.
It has, however, asked elderly people and those with co-morbidities to wear masks and not to move around in crowded places.
In the last 24 hours, the state reported 502 new cases that include people coming from the UAE, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Thailand, and France.