Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray. (File)With Daily Covid cases crossing the 5000-mark in Maharashtra and considering the possibility of increased transmission of the infection during the Ashadhi Wari, which sees lakhs of devotees heading out of Pune towards Pandharpur, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has instructed key officials to stay alert and undertake measures to avert major outbreaks.
Dr Pradeep Awate, Maharashtra surveillance officer, told The Indian Express that the CM had conducted a meeting via video conferencing with all District Collectors, Municipal Commissioners and District Police Superintendents on Friday. “The concern is that that the Ashadi Wari may enhance transmission as residents of cities like Mumbai, Pune, Thane, Raigad and Palghar, where the Covid weekly positivity rate is high, may participate in the wari. We cannot rule out the possibility of this infection then spreading to areas where there are very few active cases,” Dr Awate said.
Active cases in the state have reached 25,000 compared to 626 a couple of months back. Around 4,205 new cases were detected in the state on Friday while the case fatality rate stood at 1.85 per cent.
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The Chief Minister, during the meeting, said that even though mask use is not mandatory in the state, those participating in the Ashadhi Wari, and even others, should wear masks regularly.
Meanwhile, according to the latest report of National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Nagpur, a patient of BA.5 variant has been reported from the district. The patient is a 27-year-old fully vaccinated woman who tested positive for Covid-19 on June 19. “Initially, she was mildly symptomatic. At present, she is asymptomatic, stable and in home isolation,” Dr Awate said.
With this, the total tally of BA.4 and BA.5 variant cases found in state has gone up to 26. Pune has reported 15 cases so far followed by Mumbai (5), Nagpur (4) and Thane (2).
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