The Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope on Wednesday said that people should be ready for stringent measures in the coming days as the administration is looking for ways to slow down the spread of coronavirus in the state. Talking to reporters here, Tope said that saving lives is the government's top priority. Maharashtra has seen a huge rise in coronavirus positive cases over the last week. Tope said, "People in the state should be ready for stricter and stringent measures in the coming days as COVID-19 cases are increasing." "Though the state does not want to implement a lockdown, saving lives is paramount. Thus, the state could undertake measures to curb further spread of the coronavirus," he added.
Tope said that the state government said the government was in the midst of the preparation of SOPs and the strict measures which will be subsequently announced.
Tope said the availability of beds in Mumbai or other districts is not a major issue despite rising Covid cases. ‘’There are 400 ICU beds, 2,160 Oxygen beds, and 231 ventilator beds available in Mumbai. The government has directed the administration to further ramp up the bed capacity across the state,’’ he informed.
The minister said the government has asked suppliers to supply Oxygen for 80% medical use and 20% for industrial purposes to avoid a shortage in its supply.
‘’You will witness soon the fall in Covid cases as the government is aggressively conducting vaccination and focusing on herd immunity. Therefore, I will once again urge the people to observe Covid-19 norms including wearing masks, social distancing and avoid crowding at the public places,’’ said Tope.
Tope said the virus spread will be more if people will move in public places without wearing masks. ‘’The government has on a number of occasions issued a notification on social distancing. However, people are not complying with those rules. If people continue to flout them, then the state government will have to take strong decisions,’’ he added.
