PUNE: Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar on Friday told the administration to increase Covid testing and vaccination in the rural areas that have reported a 4.8% weekly positivity rate (WPR) as against the district’s average of 4.01%.
The weekly positivity rates in areas under the Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad civic bodies were 3.2% and 3.4%, respectively. Expressing concerns over people, especially in the rural areas, letting their guard down, Pawar urged citizens to follow the Covid protocols and not to put the government in a position where it has to shut everything ahead of a possible third wave of the pandemic.
“It has been noticed that people in the rural areas are becoming lax in terms of following Covid protocols and physical distancing and adhering to the face mask norms. They are assuming that Covid is over and this has led to the rise in infections. I have been told that the administration will increase testing this week and the focus will again be on vaccination,” he told the media.
The rural parts of the district recently achieved the feat of 1.94 lakh vaccinations in a day and the administration has been directed to scale up the inoculation programme with more doses coming. “ aramati, Indapur, Ambegaon, Shirur and Junnar talukas have registered high positivity and the administration will be focussing on these talukas,” he said.
While the first initiative on tying up with the local administration tying up with the industries saw a huge response on Wednesday, he said such drives could yield good results in future. “More such tie-ups should be done,” he added. The district till date has registered 82 lakh vaccinations. On the preparation of a possible third wave, he said the district was ready with infrastructure and allotted funds so that both the jumbo hospitals did not have to be closed.
Pune collector Rajesh Deshmukh said they have intensified testing in these talukas and have intensified surveillance activities by identifying hotspot areas and conducting tests. Zilla Parishad CEO Ayush Prasad said they have identified 91 villages as “hotspot villages” as on September 1. A village with over 10 active cases is declared a “hotspot”.
