Mumbai: Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope on Sunday said if coronavirus cases continue to surge in the state, the mandatory mask rule will return. “If Covid19 cases continue to rise, then we will have to make the wearing of masks compulsory. Our aim is to speed up vaccination and will take all possible steps to ensure the vaccination of children,” the state minister was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
While the state has the most overall cases in the country, with more than 78.7 lakh infections so far, the daily tally has been below 200 since late March. It reported 155 new coronavirus cases and one fatality on Saturday. According to the state health department, this brings the total number of people affected to 78,77,732 and the death toll to 1,47,843.
On Wednesday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray urged residents to wear face masks before going outside, saying that precautions were needed to prevent a “fourth wave of the pandemic” from arriving on their doorstep. Thackeray made the call following a review meeting on Covid with numerous high authorities, including divisional commissioners, municipal commissioners, zilla parishad CEOs, and top police officers.
“The threat of Covid-19 was not yet over. We need to arrest the spread of infection while it is at the doorstep,” he said, claiming there are “40 crore people in China’s various cities who are witnessing a lockdown.”
As the number of daily Covid-19 cases rises, several Indian states have decided to reinstate the mask rule and adhere to Covid best practices. After an alarming third-wave-driven spike peaked in January and the daily tally dropped down, the curbs were loosened early.
Kerala also reinstated the need of wearing a mask in public places on Wednesday.
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