Health Minister Rajesh Tope on Friday informed that the lockdown-like restrictions in Maharashtra have been extended by 15 days but a fresh set of guidelines will be issued on June 1.
“As far as lockdown is concerned, 15 days extension has been given, but the guidelines related to it will be issued on June 1†Tope informed reporters.
No relaxation will be given in the areas where the number of patients and positivity rate are still high and hospital bed availability is an issue, he said.
“But in the areas where the situation has improved, certain guidelines on easing the curbs can be issued,†he added.
Asked if shops selling non-essential commodities will be allowed to open, he said all such decisions will be taken on June 1.
Tope has said that the recovery rate in the state has reached 93%. “In yesterday’s Cabinet meeting, it was discussed that lockdown should be extended for 15 days but relaxations can be given in districts where cases have gone down, the final decision will be announced soon,†the Maharashtra minister said earlier.
On Thursday, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had said the restrictions will continue after June 1, and will be relaxed later in a phased manner.
“In 10 to 15 districts, the positivity rate is still very high. Besides, there is threat of the black fungus infection found in recovering/recovered coronavirus patientsâ€.
Maharashtra on May 28 recorded 20,740 New Cases while the Recoveries surpassed new cases as State registered 31,671 recoveries in last 24 hours while 424 people lost their lives due to the deadly virus. With less New cases the Active Cases of the state registered a further dip as it stands at 2,89,088. Total Recoveries till date reached to 53,07,874, Total Deaths till date – 93,198 The Recovery Rate of the state stands at 93.24% while the Fatality Rate is 1.64%