With Maharashtra’s active COVID-19 cases seeing a steady fall, State Health Minister Rajesh Tope said that even citizens who had taken only a single dose of the vaccine could be granted access to local trains, malls and other commercial utilities which had opened up if cases continued to remain in check.
Mr. Tope, however, said that a decision in this regard would only be taken by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in consultation with the State COVID-19 task force only after the conclusion of the Diwali festivities next month.
“Dussehra has just ended and Diwali will soon follow…the festivities will see large gatherings. We will be closely monitoring the situation for any case surge and reviewing the pandemic scenario once Diwali is over. In the event the cases remain under control, then after due discussions with State task force authorities, we may take a decision,” he said.
The Health Minister said that a ‘safe’ status on the Aarogya Setu app could be considered a possibility for permitting those who had received only a single dose access to all the re-opened establishments.
“Given that the current time between the first and second dose is as long as 84 days, many people cannot access services like local trains…so, if the government does take this decision [about granting access to people with a single dose], then it would come as a relief to many citizens,” he said.
While temples and malls have already re-opened, cinemas, auditoriums and theatres are set to open on October 22. On Sunday, Maharashtra saw a further dip in cases with 2,680 new recoveries reported as against 1,715 new cases as the State’s active case tally reached 28,631.
With 29 deaths today, the State’s fatalities have reached 1,39,789. Mumbai reported 366 new cases, while Pune district clocked less than 400 cases. Kolhapur and Sangli in western Maharashtra reported just five and 35 cases respectively.
