According to an order, citing the potential threat of an “imminent” third wave, the government has effectively ended the first two tiers of unlocking—Levels 1 and 2, with most relaxations allowed. Chief Secretary Sitaram Kunte on Friday said this does not change anything for Mumbai, which, however, is at Level 3 despite being eligible for Level 1, all districts and cities in Level 1 or 2 will slip to 3.
Despite indicators such as the weekly positivity rate and oxygen bed occupancy, unlocking will now only take place at three levels, starting with the easiest 3 to level 5. Levels 4 and 5 will continue to face applicable restrictions.
Except for those places in Raigad district, which stood at 4 last week, most of the cities in the MMR will be at level 3. As per the indicators last week, 25 districts in the state were eligible for Level 1, Level 3 of 8 and 3 for Level 4.
“This amendment has been made in view of the emergence of the delta-plus variant and the advice received from the central and state task forces. The delta-plus variant is a big cause for concern and we cannot take it lightly,” said Relief and Rehabilitation Secretary Asim Gupta.
The order states that newer variants such as Delta, Delta-Plus can cause a more severe third wave in 4-6 weeks over a wider geographic area. So far 21 cases of the delta-plus variant have been reported from Maharashtra – nine in Ratnagiri, seven in Jalgaon, two in Mumbai and one each in Thane, Palghar and Sindhudurg.
“A big problem this time is that the public is not cooperating. An official said, there were widespread reports of overcrowding, non-adherence to health norms. To further tighten the mechanism, the government will allow the rankings to be shifted to an easier level only after two weeks of declining trend. Earlier, decisions were based on one week’s data. However, for tightening, a period of two weeks cannot be considered and districts will not require permission from the government to impose new restrictions.
Also, to determine the weekly positivity rate, only RT-PCR tests will be taken into account and not antigens or other tests, which give more false negatives. “We noticed that just to crunch the numbers, many districts were doing random mass antigen testing which defeats the purpose. An official said, we have instructed the districts not to play with the numbers, just be at a lower level with others.
Districts have been asked to make efforts to vaccinate 70% of their eligible population, especially to encourage workplace vaccination.
Also, to deal with the violation of COVID-appropriate behavior (CAB) norms, flying squads will be sent to places like marriage halls and restaurants.
Dr Rahul Pandit, member of the State Task Force on COVID-19, said the revision in the guidelines is not surprising. “The five-point formula for unlocking is a dynamic process… At this point in time, the cases are decreasing, but not so fast. There is a danger of the delta-plus variant,” he said.
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