Maharashtra to decide on lifting remaining Covid-19 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

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. Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar on Tuesday said 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.

Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar on Tuesday said Maharashtra 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. (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT PHOTO)

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

Pawar, while speaking to mediapersons 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 since August.

“We will have a meeting after October 8, in which, 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 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 reopen theatres and cinema halls, is expected to allow it with 50% capacity and also keep it open only for double-vaccinated citizens.

Senior officials said that the state will evaluate the situation after October first week to reopen the remaining activities that haven either partial or complete restrictions. Although the situation is improving, festive season is a concern, the official said. Activities such as religious, political, social gatherings are still not allowed in the state. Weddings and funerals are allowed only with limited number of people in venues at half the capacity. Officials said that relief in these activities could be given by mid-October in a graded manner.

Pawar, however, cautioned people that although the state is seeing an overall downward trend in Covid cases, the people must continue to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour and must ensure proper masking in public places. “Last year, we had experience that Covid-19 cases have increased after eight to 10 days after Ganpati festival. In the last state cabinet meeting, held on Tuesday, we saw the figures that showed a downward trend. However, people must continue to follow all Covid-19 protocol, including wearing masks. People do get lax in following basic Covid-appropriate behaviour. It is not only bad for the person, but it will also become a factor in increasing the spread. Everybody needs to take all precautions,” the deputy chief minister said.

On Thursday, the state reported 3,063 fresh Covid-19 infections, taking the tally to 6,550,856. It reported 56 fatalities, pushing the death toll to 139,067. A day after crossing 500 cases on Wednesday, Mumbai reported 451 fresh Covid-19 infections in the city. It also reported seven fatalities, taking the toll to 16,110.

Ahmednagar, Pune, Sindhudurg, Palghar, Nashik, Osmanabad, Sangli, Satara, and Ratnagiri districts continue to report a chunk of the daily cases in the state. The weekly positivity rate in these districts is higher than the state’s overall weekly ratio, state health department’s data showed. In the last 24 hours, the state tested 144,845 samples, and had a positivity rate of 2.11%. Overall, the state has tested 58,739,974 samples, while its overall positivity rate is 11.15%.