The Maharashtra government has advised people to use masks in “closed public spaces” in the wake of the sudden surge of Covid-19 cases and will take a call on making it compulsory depending on the situation post a review in the next 15 to 20 days.
The Maharashtra government had relaxed the compulsory mask rule on April 2 coinciding with the Gudi Padwa festivities.
In a communication to district collectors, municipal commissioners and chief executive officers of zilla parishads, additional chief secretary (health) Dr Pradeep Vyas said: “Masks in closed public places like trains, buses, cinemas, auditoriums, offices, hospitals, colleges and schools are a must.”
Talking to reporters in Pune, the state’s public health and family welfare minister Rajesh Tope said that masks have not been made compulsory but all are advised to use masks in closed public places.
“Mumbai and neighbouring districts like Thane, Palghar, Raigad and Pune have seen a small surge in numbers. In this regard, the union health ministry had sent a letter asking for action to be taken. The letter had the word ‘must’ which seems to have created confusion,” he said.
Dr Vyas' letter came hours after union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan raised an alarm over rising Covid-19 cases in Maharashtra and asked the government to take steps.
“The government is keeping a close watch on the situation. We will review the emerging scenario within 15-20 days and would make it compulsory only after the review and if the situation demands,” said Tope.
Dr Vyas in the letter stated: “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 June 1, 2022.”
Dr Vyas has also asked the authorities to ramp up testing facilities and speed up vaccination.
He said that an appropriate number of samples needs to be referred for genomic sequencing to identify the INSACOG laboratory.
Dr 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.