Maharashtra to decide on lifting Covid restrictions after a week

With the Covid-19 cases on a declining trend in the state, the Maharashtra government is considering lifting the remaining restrictions after reviewing the situation after the first week of October, officials said

With the Covid-19 cases on a declining trend in the state, the Maharashtra government is considering lifting the remaining restrictions after reviewing the situation after the first week of October, officials said.

The state logged 85,980 Covid-19 cases in September. (File Photo/Bloomberg)

Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar on Tuesday said the state authorities will meet after October 8 and if the cases continue to decline, the government will lift the remaining restrictions that are still in force in the state.

Barring a few districts, the daily caseload across the state is on a downward trend. Covid-19 cases in September have seen a 46.64% decline from the previous month. The state logged 85,980 cases in September. In August, the state recorded 161,161 Covid-19 cases. In terms of fatalities, the state has registered a 61.21% drop. In August, Maharashtra reported 4,522 fatalities due to Covid-19, which dropped to 1,754 in September.

Pawar, while speaking to media persons on Thursday, said that “gradually” the situation is getting better and the state is looking at reopening all remaining restrictions in the state. The state government started its graded unlocking of restrictions in August.

“We will have a meeting after October 8 wherein we will decide whether to allow other activities as well... The chief minister has decided to reopen all activities gradually, like theatres, etc, which were not allowed so far. We are taking stock of the situation and taking steps [to reopen] and if the situation keeps improving then definitely we will see a different picture in Maharashtra,” Pawar said.

Last week, the state government announced the reopening of schools and places of worship from October 4 and October 7, respectively. Later, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray announced that the state will allow cinema halls, auditoriums to reopen from October 22. The state government, which is yet to issue guidelines for reopening theatres and cinema halls, is expected to allow it with 50% capacity and also keep it open only for double-vaccinated citizens.