Maharashtra: Covid situation under control, says Tope after Centre's advisory
The Centre had on Tuesday advised Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra and Mizoram to maintain a strict watch and take pre-emptive action, if required, in the areas of concern
The Covid-19 situation in Maharashtra is under control and there is no need to panic, said state health minister Rajesh Tope on Wednesday after the Centre's advice to monitor and take action to control any emerging spread of the virus.
Further, the minister said that the state government is keeping a close tab on the present situation and it will take the "right decision at the right time" based on the prevailing scenario.
"Yesterday, there were 137 cases in Maharashtra, including 85 in Mumbai. The state had earlier seen 60,000 cases a day. So, the present situation in the state is under control and there is no need to panic," said Tope.
"We are keeping an eye on the situation. Cases are rising in the western countries, Europe, China and to some extent in Delhi. The Central government, ICMR, our task force and health department are keeping a tab. We will definitely take the right decision at the right time depending on the prevailing situation," he added.
The state government was strictly following protocols such as testing the close and distant contacts of Covid-19 infected persons, the minister said.
While wearing masks is not mandatory in Maharashtra, Tope urged senior citizens and persons with comorbidities must cover their faces when in public as a precaution.
He also stated that the vaccination coverage in Maharashtra is good and the state government is encouraging inoculation of children in the age groups of 12 to 15 and 15 to 18 years.
“We have been vaccinating the children under age group 12-15 years and 15 to 18 years. We have been continuously encouraging people to get themselves and their children vaccinated," he said.
Centre writes to five states
The Centre had on Tuesday advised Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra and Mizoram to maintain a strict watch and take pre-emptive action, if required, in the areas of concern to control any emerging spread of the coronavirus.
In a letter, Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan advised states/UTs to monitor clusters of new Covid-19 cases and undertake required containment efforts.
Further, the health ministry conveyed that adequate testing as per guidelines is required and further undertake required steps in areas reporting high case positivity rate.
Monitoring of Influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) cases in all health facilities on a regular basis for detecting early warning signals of the spread of infection should be focused upon, wrote Bhushan.
He advised ensuring Covid-19 vaccination of eligible populations including the primary vaccination as well administration of precaution doses.
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