PUNE: The state Covid task force members on Friday iterated that there was no scope to be complacent despite a significant decline in active cases in most districts after the Ganeshotsav because the Delta variant was still in circulation.
“We shall assess the situation two weeks after the Ganesh festivities though we did not register a significant rise in daily cases in the first week after the festival. Overall, there has been a slight decrease in cases in many districts, but the state’s active case count continued to be about 40,000.
There has been a significant decline in cases in many parts of the country, but Maharashtra is going through a plateau. So, we can’t afford to be complacent,” said state task force member Dr Shashank Joshi.
The post-Ganeshotsav Covid review meeting is scheduled to be held after October 2, two weeks after the festival.
Joshi said the thinning of the Covid second wave tail was visible in most districts, but the state should not let the guard down with more festivities ahead. The health department officials felt that utmost caution should be exercised during Dasara and Diwali also.
Joshi explained that whenever the waves waned, the cases dropped. The proportional drop registered was a good sign, but the trend should continue amid following all public health measures and Covid protocols, he said.
The chairman of the state task force, Dr Sanjay Oak, told TOI that they were keeping their fingers crossed and arms flexed for vaccination. “Covid appropriate behaviour is a must when we are hoping to open schools, colleges and other establishments.
Bad habits die hard and people should adhere to norms. If the cases do not explode 15 days after the festival, opening of schools adhering to protocols laid down by the paediatric task force may be considered.”
Many experts feared a rise in the state’s weekly positivity rate (WPR) after the Ganeshotsav with the Delta variant in circulation and low testing. But the data put out by the health department pegged it at 2.28% for the week after the festival.
WPR of only nine of the 35 districts was higher than the state average and nearly 17 districts registered less than 100 active cases.
The declining trend of WPR in Pune district continued this week also. It registered an overall WPR of 3.8%. Pune civic limits’ WPR was 2.9% and in Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation areas, it was 3.1%. WPR in Pune rural was 4.5%.
Pune district health officials said they were focusing on rural areas this week also because of the increased movement of people during the festivities. The testing would be ramped up further in the rural pockets, they added.
Senior health department officials stressed on more testing and contact tracing so that asymptomatic patients were isolated at the earliest. Many rural areas continued adding to the increasing WPR in some districts. They have been told to ramp up testing.
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