Amid increasing Covid-19 cases in some parts of state, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday exhorted the district officials across the State to enforce the pandemic protocols strictly and warned the people in the event of the people not adhering to the prescribed SOPs, his Government would not have any alternative but to re-impose lockdown in the State.
Reviewing the Covid-19 situation with the divisional commissioners, district collectors, Municipal Commissioners and district police chiefs across the state through a video conference, Uddhav said: “Since there was a fall in the number of Covid-19 cases in the state during the last few months, the people are taking things easy. As a result Covid-19 protocols are not being enforced strictly. Implement the protocols strictly. If the people do not adhere to the prescribed norms like use of masks and steps against crowds at public places, then we will have not any alternative but to enforce lockdown once again”.
The chief minister gave a firm directive to the senior officials across the state at a high-level review meeting, where he along with Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, Health Minister Rajesh Tope and Chief Secretary Sanjay Kumar took stock of the Covid-19 with the the senior-most district officials, Health officers, Members of Covid-19 Task Force.
Among other things, the chief minister directed the senior officials across to declare such places as contingency zones where the number of patients was increasing, undertake a structural audit of the jumbo field hospitals and disinfect local bodies must disinfect all public places, toilets, bus stands and parks.
In some other measures, Uddhav ordered that Covid-19 tests be conducted at target areas, at least 20 contacts of individual patients be identified and a health-map of the state be drawn through the ‘My Family, My Responsibility’ initiative.
The authorities were also advised to discuss with all business organisations and associations on whether the SOPs were being followed and their implementation was happening. Like in the recent past, police permission would be needed for marriages, banquet/hall owners would be booked if they allowed anybody without masks, etc.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari said that the threat of Covid-19 had not gone and called upon the people to exercise utmost vigil since nobody knows for how long the scourge will last.
In a related development, Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar lamented that barely 60 percent of suburban train commuters were not wearing face-masks, posing a risk of further spread of Covid-19 in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) which reflected in the sudden increase in fresh cases.
“Let us not invite another lockdown. It’s the people who must take necessary care. We should not go back to square one,” Pednekar said.
The Mumbai Mayor’s statement should be seen in the context of the fact that since the resumption of suburban train services from February 1, there has been an increase in the number of cases.