Political, religious, social gatherings to be banned in Maharashtra: CM Uddhav Thackeray amid spike in COVID-19 cases

He said that political agitations will not be allowed for the next few days as they attract a crowd and stated, `The pandemic is raising its head in the state, but whether it is another wave will be known in eight to 15 days.`

Mumbai: Amid a spike in COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday (February 21, 2021) announced that all political, religious and social gatherings will be prohibited in the state from Monday.

He also said that political agitations will not be allowed for the next few days as they attract a crowd and stated, "The pandemic is raising its head in the state, but whether it is another wave or not, it will be known in eight to fifteen days." 

The Maharashtra Chief Minister added that the lockdown may not be the solution to COVID-19, but it is the only option to break the cycle of the virus.

Uddhav Thackeray said that COVID-appropriate behaviour is a must and those violating the rules will be punished.

According to him, a face mask is the only 'shield' in the war against the coronavirus outbreak. "Wear mask, maintain discipline and observe social distancing to avoid a lockdown," he said.

CM Thackeray's message comes a day after he chaired a meeting with the health minister, divisional commissioners, municipal commissioners and superintendents of police on the COVID-19 situation in the state. 

"Even if there is laxity in people, the district administration should not let your guard down and enforce the norms strictly," the Chief Minister had said in the meeting.

Earlier in the day, the Maha Government announced that the Amravati district in Maharashtra will be placed under lockdown for a week. Cabinet Minister Yashomati Thakur said in the announcement that the lockdown will kick in from Monday evening. The district administration in Pune had also shut down schools and coaching centres till February 28 in view of rising coronavirus cases. 

Maharashtra, which is also the worst COVID-19-hit state across India, reported 6,281 new confirmed cases on Saturday. There are now 48,439 active COVID-19 patients in the state. It has also witnessed a total of 19,92,530 recoveries.

Meanwhile, Mumbai Police has now been authorised to issue challans to offenders not wearing a mask too.

Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh said, "Every time we fined you for not wearing a helmet or seatbelt it was always to remind you the value of your life and safety. Same for masks. Please take care. You matter to us."

This is to be noted that the Centre on Sunday has also directed states to increase the surveillance and conduct more COVID-19 RT-PCR tests. India, notably, has been witnessing rising COVID-19 cases over the past few days and the total active caseload increased to 1,45,634 on Sunday.

The Centre advised all these states to work on the following major areas: 

1. Improve the overall testing numbers by focusing on increasing the proportion of RT-PCR tests.

2. All negative Rapid Antigen Test results to be mandatorily followed by RT-PCR test and no such negative persons are to be missed.

3. Refocus on strict and comprehensive surveillance as well as stringent containment in selected districts.

4. Regular monitoring of the mutant strains through testing followed by Genome Sequencing, as well as monitoring of the emerging cluster of cases.

5. Focusing on clinical management in districts reporting higher deaths.