Indian capital issues mask advisory to symptomatic people, hospital visitors

NEW DELHI, March 30 (Xinhua) -- The government of the Indian capital on Thursday issued an advisory asking people experiencing flu-like symptoms and those visiting hospitals to wear masks as a precautionary measure.

The advisory has come at a time when COVID-19 and flu cases are showing an increase in the national capital along with the rest of the South Asian country.

"We have issued an advisory that people with flu-like symptoms and those visiting hospitals should wear masks," Saurabh Bhardwaj, Delhi's health minister, told a press conference.

As per data released by the local health department, Delhi's COVID-19 cases climbed to 300 for the first time since Aug. 31 last year, while the positivity rate rose to 13.89 percent. On Wednesday, two COVID-19-related deaths were also reported in the city.

Delhi's Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is scheduled to hold a meeting to review COVID-19 situation on Friday.

A spike in influenza and COVID-19 cases has been witnessed in India since mid-February.

Last week, the Health Ministry directed all the states to accelerate the pace of COVID-19 testing.