Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope during a press meet in Pune on Monday hinted that a possible lockdown would be imposed in cities that continue to report maximum cases, including Pune.
He said that discussions are underway with the chief minister, who is worried about the situation and will take a decision in the next two-three days.
This comes at a time when Pune’s progressive Covid count has gone up beyond 0.471 million cases, of which 42,015 are active cases, the highest in the country.
Tope said, “The chief minister said that if the daily Covid-19 case count continues to go beyond 25K-30K, then we will have to take strict action. The CM also opined that if needed restrictions could be further intensified, or a lockdown could be imposed in certain cities, and if need be, in the entire state,” Tope said.
“On multiple occasions, the CM in his earlier conferences and addresses to the people has appealed, that unless restrictions and Covid- appropriate behaviour is followed, lockdown would be imposed. I appeal to citizens to respond to the restrictions and follow Covid-appropriate behaviour if we want to avoid a lockdown,” Tope added.
Tope also said that it is likely that the number of cases will continue to grow at the current rate for the next two-three days, and then recede.
{{/usCountry}}Tope also said that it is likely that the number of cases will continue to grow at the current rate for the next two-three days, and then recede.
{{/usCountry}}He said, “We hope that this is the peak of the second wave and that the number of cases go down from here onwards. I would also like to point out that although it may seem that Maharashtra has the highest active cases in terms of absolute numbers, if we see the number of cases per million, then the state is at seventh position, with Delhi, Pondichery and Goa leading.”
“We are completely transparent when it comes to testing and reporting and also, we are now emphasising tracing and tracking as per the guidelines set by the central team. Also the PM in his own conference with state heads said that states like UP and Kerala have more rapid antigen tests, which could lead to false negatives. Maharashtra is conducting at least 73% of its tests through RTPCR.”
Earlier, due to the rapid surge in the number of cases in Amravati and Yavatmal, the government imposed a strict lockdown there.
Following genome sequencing it was found that the mutations of the virus had led to a fast spread of the infection.
The number of cases started to drop after a lockdown period of two weeks.
In Nagpur, which saw a drastic surge, a complete lockdown was imposed on March 15 which has now been extended to March 31.
Although lockdown effectively controls the spread of the infection it would leave a long lasting impact on the already reeling economy of the city.