In view of the rising number of Covid-19 cases in certain districts of Maharashtra, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has directed the state administration to perform targeted tests in areas where the infections are on the rise and undertake rigorous tracing of at least 20 persons in contact with every patient.

Marriage ceremonies will now require police permission, a press statement issued by Chief Minister Office said.

Pune district continues to have the highest number of cases at 7,015, followed Thane with 5,000 cases and Mumbai with 4,328. In Amravati, which is primarily an agriculture dominated district the number has risen to 3,329. In the Nagpur district it is 4,590.

Thackeray gave the order after chairing a Covid review meeting on Tuesday. At the meeting, the rising number of cases in 15 out of 36 districts were reviewed. The cases in Amravati and Nagpur district is a matter of concern for the state.

Rules and relaxation

He said that people need to decide whether there is a need for a lockdown or live freely with a few restrictions. If people do not wear masks or follow health rules, then the district and police administration have a responsibility to strictly enforce these rules.

All the activities have restarted and the restrictions have been relaxed. The youths are out of their house, everyone is behaving as if pandemic is under control, as a result lives of the old and senior citizens at home are under threat, he said.

A health map of the state by carrying out My Family My responsibility campaign has already been created. Therefore, with the help of this map, the health workers restart must start engaging with those patients, who have comorbid conditions, Thackery said.

He also asked the state officials to talk to all the business associations and make sure that the standard operating procedures are strictly enforced.

A Maharashtra Government official said that at marriage functions it has been observed that the people are not maintaining social distancing and wearing mask. Therefore, such ceremonies will require police permission.

On Tuesday, a press statement issued under the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme of the Public Health Department said that as on date, there are 37,125 active cases in the state. About 3,663 new cases were detected and 2,700 patients discharged from the hospitals. In the state, 39 Covid-19 related deaths were also reported. The recovery rate is 95.66 per cent and case fatality rate is 2.49 per cent.

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