The Maharashtra government tightened the Covid-19 unblocking process on Friday after a surge in Delta Plus variant cases. The condition on Friday too recorded the first death in patients infected with this variant.
The government has announced a “state-level trigger” to impose restrictions on administrative units regardless of the weekly positivity rate and oxygen bed occupancy percentage.
Maharashtra is one of a handful of states in which cases of the Delta Plus variant have been discovered to date. Like on friday it had 20 cases, the highest in the country, while the national total was 48. However, the center said that there are still “very limited” cases of this mutation and it cannot be said that it is showing an upward trend.
As a precautionary measure, the government of Maharashtra announced that it would not relax the Covid-19 restrictions beyond “Level 3” for the time being. The government has also issued new orders to curb the spread of the virus infection.
The notification amends the five-step unlock plan announced earlier this month by the Maharashtra government.
Earlier this month, Maharashtra announced a five-step unlock plan after the deadly second wave of Covid-19 appeared to be ebbing.
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As part of the plan, restrictions in cities and counties were decided according to the weekly positivity rate and the oxygen bed occupancy.
The new move suggests tightening restrictions to curb a surge in cases after some people were discovered with the Delta Plus variant of the coronavirus. This variant has already been declared a worrying variant by the center.
WHAT’S IN THE NEW ORDER
- According to the new order, shopping centers and multiplexes in Maharashtra will not be operated until further orders from the state civil protection agency.
- Since the state has decided to limit the unlocking process to “Level 3” nationwide, the guidelines for unlocking “Level 2 and 1” do not even apply in locations that are otherwise qualified to do so.
- Following consultations with the state’s Covid-19 task force, the government has decided to impose stricter restrictions to curb the spread of the virus.
- The government said it was dissatisfied with compliance with people’s Covid-fair behavior in public places.
- In areas that fall under level 3 of the five-level activation plan, important shops and facilities can remain open until 4:00 p.m. every day. Non-essential shops and facilities can stay open until 4 p.m. on weekdays, it said.
- Restaurants are allowed to eat 50 percent on weekdays until 4 p.m. and then deliver to take away and home, according to the message.
- The use of S-Bahn will only be used for medical staff and staff who are busy with essential services, it said.
- Fitness studios and salons stay open until 4 p.m. at 50 percent capacity.
STATE LEVEL TRIGGER
Given that the virus that causes Covid-19 is subject to mutations in different regions and that these mutations are more transmissible and have the potential to evade immunity, the government has asked all administrative units to stop their unlocking activities under “Level 3” to keep.
This is independent of the weekly positivity rate and the percentage of oxygen bed occupancy in the region.
The government said the weekly positivity rate should be taken into account in making decisions about the amount of restrictions to apply in a region.
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However, the weekly positivity rate may only be determined on the basis of RT-PCR tests and not on the basis of the results of rapid antigen tests. The data for this are made available by the State Health Office.
THE ROLE OF DDMA DECISIVE
In each district, the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) is responsible for deciding the level of restrictions that can be followed in different administrative units.
DDMA may choose to impose a higher level of restrictions or further restrictions with the same basic level of restrictions. No prior approval from the state civil protection agency is required to impose higher restrictions or to set additional restrictions.
As DDMA comes down to a lower level, it will examine the trend two weeks before accepting lower restrictions.
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If there is an upward trend in the number of positive cases and a higher level of restraint than the current one is required, DDMA will do so without waiting for two weeks of trends.
ACTION TO BE TAKEN BY DDMA
- The state government has also issued a specific action plan for various DDMAs in the state. These measures must be implemented immediately. These include:
- Promote vaccination through public awareness activities. An attempt must be made to reach a vaccination of at least 70 percent of the eligible population. DDMA to promote vaccinations in the workplace, especially for workers.
- Hit the “Test-Track-Treat” methodology to contain the spread of the virus.
- Do a large number of tests and the percentage of RT-PCR tests compared to other tests is to be expected by the health department.
- Effectively impose fines for violations of Covid-appropriate conduct.
- Avoid events / events / activities that result in hustle and bustle, gatherings and gatherings.
- Declare containment zones wisely so that restrictions are placed on a smaller area, especially the failure area.
- Form flight squads to enforce Covid-appropriate behavior, especially to review high-incidence events such as weddings and facilities such as restaurants, shopping malls, etc.
(With agency entries)
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