North Korea abruptly stopped importing COVID-19 prevention and control products from China in May, trade data released by Beijing showed, after the country bought face masks and ventilators from its neighbour in previous months.

Thailand announced Friday it would drop rules requiring people to wear masks outdoors and no longer require foreign visitors to register before travel, as Covid-19 cases fall and the kingdom seeks to lure tourists back.

BJP chief JP Nadda on Wednesday praised what he called "Modiji's Suraksha Kavach", pointing to the laxity in observance of Covid safety measures in Kolkata.

The lack of masks at airports and in flights has been made actionable again as Covid numbers started climbing in parts of the country.

The Mumbai metropolitan region, Pune and Thane are among six districts of Maharashtra where coronavirus cases are rising rapidly, state health minister Rajesh Tope has said, urging people to wear masks.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday said people should use face masks, vaccinate themselves and follow discipline if they don't wish to experience COVID-19 restrictions again.

Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope has said residents of districts in the state that are reporting an increase in daily coronavirus infections should start taking more caution and wear masks.

More than 4,500 people have been fined for Rs 22 lakh in total in the city for not wearing masks since the mask mandate returned amid a spike in coronavirus cases, according to government data.

South Africa on Thursday ended mask-wearing for school children despite a surge of infections driven by two new Omicron sub-variants of coronavirus.

Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope has said there is no need for making face masks compulsory in the state as of now, but if there is an increase in new COVID-19 cases, then face coverings will be made mandatory.

Malaysia will ease more COVID-19 curbs from the start of next month, including lifting restrictions on those who are not vaccinated against the coronavirus and scrapping the need to wear masks outdoors, its health minister said.

People in Delhi must wear mask in public places, the state government said today. Those found violating the rule amid rising COVID-19 cases will be fined Rs 500, it said. Those travelling in cars, however, do not need to wear mask.

People in Delhi must wear mask in public places, the state government said today. Those found violating the rule amid rising COVID-19 cases will be fined Rs 500, it said. Those travelling in private cars, however, do not need to wear mask.

The Punjab government on Thursday advised people to wear face masks at crowded places amid a surge in coronavirus cases in some of the states.

The government is not planning to impose a fine for not wearing face masks in Delhi, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said on Tuesday.

The Haryana government today made it compulsory for people to wear a face mask in public places in Gurugram, Faridabad and two other districts amid a rise in Covid cases in New Delhi.

A crucial meeting of DDMA on Wednesday is likely to discuss mandatory use of face masks and hybrid mode of offline and online teaching for school children, in view of rising number of infections in past many days, official sources said.

The Uttar Pradesh government on Monday made it compulsory for people to wear a face mask in public places in capital Lucknow and six NCR districts amid a rise in Covid cases in some adjoining states, an official said.

In view of an uptick in COVID-19 cases in the national capital, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) will hold a meeting on April 20 in which it may consider reimposing the mandatory use of face masks, officials said on Thursday.

Haryana's Gurugram, located near Delhi, has recorded 129 cases of coronavirus after more than a month. The numbers travelled upwards as the Haryana government lifted the mandatory tag on masks. A similar trend was observed in Delhi.

Even though compulsion has ended, people should wear masks in public as long as he and his deputy Ajit Pawar continue to wear them, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said on Saturday.

Not wearing a mask will no longer attract a fine in Delhi, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority said in a formal order today a day after Maharashtra and Bengal decided to do away with Covid-related restrictions.

With the COVID-19 situation having considerably improved in West Bengal, the state government on Thursday announced that that all curbs related to the contagion would stand withdrawn from midnight.

The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) decided on Thursday that there will be no fine for not wearing face masks at public places in the national capital, official sources said.