Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray to meet Covid task force today to decide on relaxations

A view of the Crawford market area after lockdown was relaxed in July last year

Even as the demand for further relaxations across the state grows, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has decided to seek the Covid Task Force's opinion at a meeting on Thursday and then decide on the further course of action.

On Wednesday, the cabinet was shown a weekly presentation on the pandemic. Between July 1 and July 27, the average death rate was 1.24 per cent. As on July 27, the state had 88,729 cases, of which 39 per cent were being treated in hospitals, with 14.27 per cent in a serious condition. The situation in western Maharashtra's Sangli, Kolhapur and Satara, which have been battered by heavy rains, is still far from satisfactory. Flood-affected Ratnagiri also has a high number of active cases.

As per the statistics, Pune, Thane, Kolhapur, Sangli and Satara together account for about 60 per cent of the state's total active cases. Mumbai, Ahmednagar, Solapur, Beed and Ratnagiri form the state's 24.84 per cent active patients. These 10 districts put together have 84.80 per cent of the state's active cases, whereas the other 25 districts share the remaining caseload.

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People seen working out at Marine Drive in August last year. File pics

Sources said some senior ministers suggested that the curbs should be relaxed wherever possible. A couple of days ago, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar had said that Pune might have its shop timings extended till 7 pm. He had also mentioned that the government was mulling giving relief to the fully vaccinated people.

Opposition leader Devendra Fadnavis has written to the CM about unlocking cities like Nagpur where the caseload is negligible. Commerce and business communities, retailers, hoteliers and others, who have been allowed to operate in a limited time window or have not been allowed at all, have been demanding relaxations.

Guardian minister of Mumbai Aslam Shaikh felt that further unlocking is needed and that restaurant timings should be extended.

Senior minister Chhagan Bhujbal was reported to have insisted on exploring the possibility of relaxing and lifting curbs wherever possible. Thackeray told the cabinet that further decisions would depend on his meeting with the state task force.

Third wave in Kerala?
Health minister Rajesh Tope said that his department has submitted a proposal for relaxing curbs in 14 districts where the growth rate over the last three weeks has been 1 per cent or less. But he sounded caution by saying that a sudden spike in cases in Kerala could be a sign of the third wave. Sources said that the Kerala spike would be discussed with the task force.