AURANGABAD: Different markets and commercial areas from Aurangabad witnessed vibrancy on day one of the further easing of Covid-related curbs on Tuesday.
Welcoming the government decision to allow shops to remain open till 8 pm, the local traders body has appealed to its members and public at large for strict compliance with Covid Appropriate Behaviour to avoid a resurgence of the pandemic situation.
“The local business and the economy at large were suffering badly due to restricted working hours. The pandemic situation is not over yet and every member of the society has to act in a responsible manner in order to ensure Covid does not rear its ugly head again,” Jagannath Kale, president of Aurangabad Jilha Vyapari Mahasangh said.
Aurangabad district on Monday reported six fresh cases of Covid-19 within the municipal limits of Aurangabad and another 14 cases from rural areas, taking the tally of active cases to 300.
Meanwhile, as per the latest modified guidelines under Break The Chain order from the state government, Beed from Marathwada is among 11 districts from the state which will continue to observe Covid-related curbs in the wake of a relatively higher number of Covid cases.
As reported by TOI earlier, four talukas — Ashti, Patoda, Shirur and Georai — have been reporting a higher number of fresh infections and will witness tighter curbs whereas the remaining seven talukas will observe Level III restrictions, said an official release.
Beed collector Ravindra Jagtap on Tuesday said he has worked out taluka-wise Covid positivity rate to assess the pandemic situation in an effective manner.
“Even if Beed district has relatively higher positivity rate, majority of patients are either showing mild symptoms or no symptoms at all, which is a silver line for us. An aggressive Covid testing, including in areas that border with neighbouring Ahmednagar district, is on to detect fresh infection early,” he said.
As per the latest order, the commercial establishments from aforesaid four talukas are allowed to operate only from 7 am to 12.30 pm between Monday and Friday with complete closure on weekends. Such establishments situated in other talukas of the district can function till 4 pm with blanket shutdown during weekends.
As per official data, Beed district had 1,785 active cases of Covid-19 by Monday, which is the highest among total eight districts from Marathwada.
