In Nagaland, wearing of facemask has been made compulsory in and around Kohima Municipality areas starting from today.In a bid to contain the spread of COVID-19, this ban is being initiated by the Association of Kohima Municipal Wards Panchayat in collaboration with the Kohima Municipal Council.

All the 19 wards under the Kohima Municipality have joined the campaign, wherein at least 10 volunteers including senior leaders from the respective wards are enforcing the safety measures at all times.People who are not wearing facemask will have their names listed and be compelled to buy a face mask on the spot from the Ward Covid Committee at Rs 30 per mask.

Nagaland reported 29 fresh cases of COVID-19 today, taking the total caseload to 9,503. Health and Family Welfare Minister, S. Pangnyu Phom in a tweet said, 14 cases were detected from Kohima, 13 in Dimapur, and one each from Peren and Tuensang.

He also informed that 73 patients including 49 from Dimapur, 20 from Kohima, three from Kipire and one from Tuensang have recovered from the infection.

With a total 8,423 recovered cases, the state recovery rate has also improved to 88.64 per cent.

Presently, there are 941 active cases, while 40 persons have succumbed to COVID-19, six deaths are not related to COVID and three deaths are under investigation. So far, 90 cases have migrated.