Maharashtra: Mask Mandate Restored Amid Surge In Covid-19 Cases

In a bid to put a check on the sudden rise in Covid-19 cases, the Maharashtra government on Saturday issued an order asking citizens to wear masks in public places except in open spaces. The decision came in light of the recent surge in Maharashtra over the past few days.

Additional Chief Secretary, Dr Pradeep Vyas, in a letter issued the required orders including mandating the wearing of masks in public places.

He stated that wearing masks in closed public spaces like trains, buses, cinemas, auditoriums, offices, hospitals, colleges, and schools was a must.

In his letter, Vyas wrote, “After seeing a sustained decline in the number of Covid-19 cases in the state over the last couple of months, cases have started slowly but steadily increasing and the daily cases have crossed 1,000 for the first time after 3 months on, 1 June 2022. Currently, Mumbai Metropolitan Region and Thane are seeing a surge in Covid-19 cases but with the positivity rate increasing in other districts (Annexure-1), we can expect an increase in cases in other districts as well.”

He said, "In the last week, as many as nine districts have shown growth in the number of new cases as compared to the week preceding that (Annexure-2). ln view of this, steps will need to be taken to keep the surge under control and to keep hospital admissions to a minimum."

What precautions are advised amid the surge in Covid-19 cases?

The order issued by the government included the following measures in order to understand various patterns and possible variations of the recent outbreak.

• Carry out periodic analysis of new positive cases with respect to time, place and person (age, sex, etc.) so a localised action plan can be carved out. Geographical distribution of cases is important to find out clusters if any.
• Keep track of the overall clinical spectrum of cases.
• Analyse the proportion of breakthrough infection and reinfection cases periodically.

Sudden rise in Covid-19 in Maharashtra

Maharashtra has witnessed a tremendous rise in the number of Covid-19 cases in Mumbai over the last few days, according to data. Top officials are dreading a massive surge in symptomatic cases as monsoon is approaching. 

Maharashtra had recorded 169 new cases on May 1, while on May 31 the daily rise in cases in the state was 711.

The state has seen a sharp spike in cases over the last week, with June 1 reporting 1,081 cases, the highest since February 24. 

On Friday 1,134 new Covid-19 cases and three deaths were reported. Out of the new cases, 763 were from Mumbai. Of 9,354 cases added by the state in May, 5,980 cases, or nearly 64 per cent, were contributed by Mumbai, data showed.

State Government orders to ramp up Covid-19 testing 

The Maharashtra health department on Friday asked the district and civic authorities to ramp up coronavirus testing as the number of samples being examined had fallen while cases were rising.

The letter issued by the government also stated that an appropriate number of samples need to be referred for genomic sequencing to identify the INSACOG laboratory. Vyas stressed the need to keep track of the overall clinical spectrum of cases and analyse the proportion of breakthrough infections and reinfection cases periodically.

The letter said vaccination coverage needed to be increased, adding that precaution dose should be promoted and expedited, while vaccination in the 12-18 age group needs to improve.

(With PTI Inputs)