Mumbai: As a precautionary amid the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, the Maharashtra government on Tuesday decided that home isolation will not be allowed from now on in 18 districts that are in the Covid-19 red zone.
In tune with the same, the state government has asked the district administrations to increase the number of Covid care centres in these 18 districts.
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These districts are - Pune, Nagpur, Mumbai city, Mumbai suburbs, Thane, Latur, Nanded, Amravati, Sindhudurg, Aurangabad, Osmanabad, Akola, Dhule, Raigad, Beed, Hingoli, Solapur and Satara.
This decision is aimed at ensuring the patients receive better treatment at Covid care centres and curb infection spread.
Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope said that these districts have been asked to increase the bed capacity and to focus on testing, adding “the focus should be on high-risk contacts of positive patients”.
Tope said the district collectors have been asked to conduct fire and electric audits of government hospitals, adding funds will be provided to them after they submit the report.
The Health Minister while commenting on the issue of global tenders to procure Covid vaccines said the state government has got a response from few companies, including Pfizer, Sputnik and AstraZeneca.
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“They are yet to give us supply schedules,” he told the media.
The decision comes as Maharashtra has been reporting over 20,000 cases on a daily basis despite the lockdown in place.
Earlier on Sunday, the state reported 26,672 fresh Covid-19 cases and 594 fatalities.