Maharashtra Public Health Minister Rajesh Tope said on Saturday that the state government may relax the lockdown in some areas after April 14 if people continue to be self-disciplined and remain at home to fight the war against virus. He, however, said that the lockdown will be lifted in phases whenever it is done, so that "not all the people can be allowed to come on to the streets at one go".
"We are discussing whether to give phase-wise relaxation after April 14, but this will be possible only if people cooperate and maintain discipline," said Tope in his web address on Saturday.
The minister, however, said the state government may not lift the current lockdown on April 14, when the countrywide restrictions end, if the people do not observe discipline and the number of Covid 19 cases rises. He reiterated his appeal to the people to observe strict discipline so that the number of cases reduce, which will then pave the way for lifting the lockdown.
Tope said people living in densely-populated urban areas, in particular, should observe strict discipline. Furthermore, he said that the state has stock of 25,000 Personal Protection Equipment (PPEs), 25 lakh N95 masks & 25 lakh Triple-layer masks.
"In government hospitals, we have 1500 ventilators and arranging for further 2000 for other hospitals which are under Mahatma Jyotiba Phule scheme," he noted. He also informed that the government will provide online training to 1.25 lakh AYUSH doctors who will be deployed to treat the coronavirus patients.
