Days before Maharashtra issued fresh Covid-related guidelines, including night curfew and weekend lockdown , the Centre had told the state...
Days before Maharashtra issued fresh Covid-related guidelines, including night curfew and weekend lockdown, the Centre had told the state that such measures have limited impact on containing the transmission of the infection, The Indian Express reported on Tuesday.
After Maharashtra reported 16,620 cases on March 15, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan had written to Maharashtra Chief Secretary Sitaram Kunte, suggesting that the focus should be on strict and effective containment, and not imposition of a lockdown. On April 2, two days before Maharashtra imposed the new restrictions, Kunte did not discuss the measure in a meeting with the Centre’s Cabinet secretary, The Indian Express reported, quoting an unidentified government official. The Centre also told state authorities that the purpose of imposing a lockdown was to improve the health infrastructure and not break the chain of transmission.
However, Maharashtra government officials have said that the decision on weekend lockdown was taken as people were not complying with Covid-appropriate behaviour despite the increase in number of cases. The decision was also prompted by the fact that projections indicated that the health infrastructure could come under stress.
“Projection was made on two sets of parameters – number of beds and requirement of oxygen,” the Maharashtra government official told The Indian Express. “ Our experts projected that if this...
