DCM WARNS OF HARSH STEPS AHEAD
Fresh lockdown possible if guidelines are violated, says Health Minister Rajesh Tope
Testing should be increased in areas where positivity is high
— Rajesh Tope, State’s Health Minister
Rising COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra have raised an alarm. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Monday warned that the state government may have to take harsh steps to contain the spread of coronavirus and urged the people to be prepared for the same.
His warning came in the wake of a spurt in Covid-19 cases in some districts in the Vidarbha region especially Amravati and Nagpur, and Nashik in north Maharashtra. He expressed strong displeasure over people not following the Covid-19 norms and violating guidelines.
"I have come across reports that people are not following the COVID-19 guidelines
which are aimed at checking the spread of the infection. If the situation worsens, we may need to pay a heavy cost
for this carelessness,’’ said Pawar who was at Aurangabad.
Pawar said Chief Minister
Uddhav Thackeray has convened a meeting to review the situation and take additional measures. He asserted that if the state government does not take some harsh decisions then all will have to pay heavy costs later. On Monday, the state reported 3365 new Covid-19 cases with 23 deaths while 3,105 were discharged. The fatality rate was recorded at 2.49% and the recovery rate is 95.7%.
Similarly, Public Health Minister Rajesh Tope asked the department machinery to step up tracing, tracking, and testing especially where the positivity is higher. He also warned that the people will have to strictly observe norms including face masks, social distancing, use of sanitizer, and avoid crowding to avoid a further bout of lockdown in the state. Tope hinted that the discontinuation of railway services for all may be the last option that the government will explore if the cases show a surge and people continue to flout norms.