PUNE: Ruling out any further curbs ahead of festivals, state health minister Rajesh Tope on Thursday directed the local administrations to implement the existing rules properly with strict adherence to Covid-19 protocols.
The Maharashtra health minister said all necessary precautions to prevent crowding during the festivals was in place. He said all cautions should be exercised and Covid protocols should be followed during the festive time.
“We are aware of how cases have increased after Onam in Kerala. So, we have to ensure that there is no crowding during the upcoming festivities,” he said, almost a week after the Centre advised the state to be cautious ahead of festivities in a letter.
The Centre, in the letter, advised the state to consider imposing local restrictions on mass events during the festivals to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
Ahead of the festivities, the state task force members are also against taking any chances after the Kerala experience. They claimed that the cases had receded in the state after the second wave and now the focus should be on double-masking and intensified vaccination.
Tope said the state had been registering about 4,000-5,000 cases on a daily basis over a month. “We are keeping a close watch on the numbers and if there is any sudden rise in cases, new strategies have to be implemented,” he said.
On eight districts registering a higher weekly positivity rate (WPR) than the state average this week, Tope said the local administrations would have to keep a close watch on the situation in these districts. He said the officials would have to ensure that there was no sudden rise in cases in any pockets.
“While some of the districts have registered higher positivity rate than the state average, around 17 districts in the state have below 100 active cases. Some districts are registering just two to three cases each day,” he said.
The state currently has around 51,078 active cases.
