Maharashtra has over 91,000 active COVID-19 cases as of January 6 morning (File)
Maharashtra will not announce a Covid lockdown as of now, the state's Health Department said Thursday morning, according to news agency ANI.
A lockdown, or a lockdown-like set of restrictions, will be only be considered after the demand for medical oxygen crosses 800 metric tonnes per day, or more than 40 per cent of hospital beds for Covid patients are occupied, the department said.
The Health Department also said it expected the current surge in Covid cases to peak by mid-February and subside by mid-March, with Additional Chief Secretary Health Dr Pradeep Vyas predicting an active caseload of around two lakhs by the third week of this month.
Last week Vijay Wadettiwar, the minister for Disaster Management, told reporters the final decision would be taken by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, but said a lockdown was "approaching".
Days earlier Chief Minister Thackeray reminded people to avoid mass gatherings and follow Covid-appropriate behaviour, including wearing face masks in public places.
Maharashtra on Wednesday night reported a deeply worrying 26,538 new COVID-19 cases in 24 hours - a 44 per cent increase over the previous day, and state capital Mumbai recorded 15,166 cases- the most in a single-day since the pandemic began in December 2019.
Growing concern over rapidly escalating third wave of infections - driven in part by the more transmissible Omicron variant, of which Maharashtra has 797 - has been added to after hundreds of doctors in some of Mumbai's biggest hospitals reported positive for the virus over the past few days.
Over 150 doctors in the city's King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital have contracted the virus, as have another 80 at the Sion Hospital and nearly as many at others. Across Maharashtra over 260 have tested positive so far, the Association of Resident Doctors has said.
60 employees of the city's public transportation service also tested positive, ANI said.
Cases in the third wave seem to be less severe than the third, some doctors have told NDTV, but they have also warned that the sheer number of people testing positive (and requiring admission if they have the Omicron strain) threatens to overwhelm hospitals.
Fresh guidelines issued Tuesday night mandate all international passengers arriving in Mumbai to take a RT-PCR test. Those testing negative must then quarantine at home for a week. Those testing positive will be shifted to institutional quarantine (a hospital) or a 'private facility' (a hotel).
Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar told NDTV this week the city is ready for a "tsunami" of cases.
"We have followed WHO guidelines. We have 'jumbo' quarantine centres... the city and Maharashtra will do its best to contain the spread. Even if a tsunami comes, we should be ready," she told NDTV.
The state government has already announced new restrictions, including capping of attendance at gatherings (open or closed space) at 50, although 200 more are allowed for weddings.
The state has also closed all schools and colleges till February 15, Higher and Technical Education Minister Uday Samant told ANI yesterday. Exams will held online.
India this morning reported over 90,000 new COVID-19 cases.
With input from ANI