BRAHMANBARIA: A mobile court here on Monday fined nine people in Akhaura upazila for not wearing masks in public places.

A team, led by Saiful Islam, the executive magistrate and assistant commissioner of the upazila administration (land), conducted a drive in Sorokbazar, Borobazar and rail station areas and challenged the nine for not adhering to corona-safety protocols.

The Bangladesh government has announced strict measures to contain the rising cases of the Omicron variant of corona and those flouting the same will be punished, said the executive magistrate.

The drive will continue until further notice, he added.

Bangladesh is currently witnessing a surge of corona cases, with the country registering 38,478 infections in the last 16 days since January 1.