The state government has considered imposing restrictions instead of a complete lockdown, said Rajesh Tope, state health minister. The decision was made after the Covid review meeting was chaired by Deputy CM Ajit Pawar.
In light of the growing number of cases of Covid, the Covid Task Force suggested augmented restrictions instead of a complete lockdown. This would mean more restrictions on non-essential activities that could attract crowds. A complete lockdown is not necessary at this stage. The crowds need to be curbed, Tope said.
About 10 -- 15 ministers and 60 -- 70 MLAs have tested positive for Covid. The authorities appealed to everyone to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour.
The new guidelines will be notified after the Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray approves.
The state may see a rise of up to 25,000 Covid cases and expressed concerns about the spread of the infection.
He said that the quarantine period has now been redefined to 7 days and was followed by an RTPCR test.
The state will conduct Rapid Antigen Test RAT as RTPCR tests for everyone will be difficult due to the sheer number of cases. He said that kiosks for antigen tests will be set up, and chemist stores will be asked to keep a record of the antigen test kits sold.