SHC terms wearing mask to prevent coronavirus Not Mandatory

Sindh High Court (SHC) terms that wearing masks to prevent the deadly coronavirus is not mandatory, on Friday during hearing on a case pertaining to increased prices and shortage of masks in Karachi.

At the outset of the hearing, the lawyer of the applicant stated that prices of surgical masks are skyrocketing in the across the province, including Karachi, while there is an acute shortage too.

SHC terms that wearing masks to prevent the deadly coronavirus is not mandatory.

“Who said wearing mask is mandatory to get safe from coronavirus”, Justice Muhammad Ali remarked. Have you not saw the press conference of the doctors in this context, yesterday?, he asked the lawyer of the applicant.

The SHC bench observed that masks are available in Karachi after observing a girl wearing mask in the court room. Upon asking, the girl replied, she bought the mask from the city but after facing so much difficulties.

A panic has been created under the name of coronavirus in the city, the judge remarked.

Following the detection of two cases of coronavirus in Pakistan, the prices of surgical masks were surged in various parts of the country. The two cases of novel coronavirus were reported in Karachi and Islamabad.

On the other hand, some 82,560 people have been infected worldwide by coronavirus and 2,813 have died, according to the latest toll from official sources.

The number of deaths in mainland China — excluding the semi-autonomous territories of Hong Kong and Macao — stands at 2,747, out of 78,497 cases. Over the previous 24 hours, 433 new infections have been recorded there.

In latest count, 66 people have died outside mainland China since the start of the epidemic, out of 4,063 people infected, with 863 new cases.