Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope on Friday said that the State government will relax Covid-19 restrictions step by step as experts have predicted the endemic stage by mid-March.
Speaking to reporters in his hometown Jalna, Tope said, “You will see those restrictions will be relaxed step-by-step every week. In March first or second week, the third wave will reach the endemic stage as per the experts’ opinion.”
Earlier this week, the State government issued fresh guidelines to ease Covid-19 curbs in 11 districts including Mumbai. The government has allowed more guests at marriage functions, and also permitted swimming pools, water parks, theatres and restaurants to remain open with 50 per cent capacity. District Authorities will take decisions as per the prevailing situations.
The government has also announced that examinations for tenth and twelfth standard will be conducted offline as the number of Covid cases is on the decline and hospitalisation is very low.
As of Thursday, there are 1,58,151 active Covid-19 cases in the State. Over 15,000 new cases were reported on Thursday while 30,235 patients were discharged.